PART 1:
On a Friday morning, Stan calls the barely awake twins into the living room. On the TV is a commercial for the show that was filmed a few days ago, clips of Stan and Mabel, and Dipper saying a warning, part of the preview. Mabel mentions telling their parents and finally getting them to believe the twins about what happens in Gravity Falls, but Stan says that won't help anything.
Stan turns to Yuki, who is looking through a dictionary for a synonym of 'no refund.' Yuki says he found the word 'remuneration,' and Stan tells him to make a bunch of signs that say to refund to better trick the customers. Yuki tries to tell him how dishonest that is, but not even backup for Dipper can change Stan's mind.
Yuki leaves just before Soos comes in, saying there was something we wanted to tell the twins, but he forgot. While he waits for it to come back to him, he goes to help Yuki with the signs. Wendy arrives, Mabel teasing Dipper and Dipper completely ignoring it, his suspicions about Wendy still high.
Wendy reaches into her bag, saying she is feeling the effects of having a cabinet slam her against the wall. Dipper is still suspicious, but Wendy pulls out a postcard, providing a distraction. Dipper reads it and realizes that it is from Jace and Jess. They say that they caught up with the Phoenix in Baja, CA, and are on their way back. They mention stopping by the town again once the Phoenix is safe back home before signing off.
Just after they finish with the postcard, Soos runs in, having remembered what he wanted to tell the twins. He informs them that the second annual Talent Show is the next day, he and Wendy explaining that the Talent Show replaced Pioneer Day after the Nathaniel Northwest scandal was revealed.
The twins decide to enter the competition and show off Mabel's Paths training. Soos wants to enter as well, and the three of them decide they can enter and represent the Mystery Manor. They try to convince Wendy to join, but she says no before a few tourists show up. Stan comes in and the twins tell him about their planned participation in the Talent Show. Sensing a money-making opportunity, he allows the twins to head into town and sign up themselves and Soos. Yuki goes with them to scout out new locations for signs for the Manor, and the three leave.
Yuki comments about Stan's greed as Dipper pulls out of the driveway. On the way into town, Yuki asks them a lot of questions about the car and how it works. Realizing they don't know nearly as much as they should, the three arrive in Town Square, where people are setting up chairs and the stage for the show tomorrow.
Yuki goes off to scout locations while Dipper and Mabel head to the sign up area, a blonde girl focus on a clipboard bumping into them. The twins recognize the blonde as Pacifica, but she doesn't seem to recognize them, not matter how many hints Mabel drops. Pacifica says they can sign up for the Talent show as long as they stay away from her, appearing to have reverted back to her mean self from when she first met the twins.
Pacifica walks away, Dipper commenting that he wouldn't save her from a giant spider, but Mabel doesn't catch the joke. She says that she thought she got through to Pacifica their first summer, but apparently it didn't stick. Dipper cheers her up and reminds her about why they are there- to sign up for the Talent Show. The two go over to the booth, the guy in charge at first seeming professional, but he quickly dissolves into not caring. He explains that Pacifica is going to win no matter what, as her parents have money, influence, and the judges are friend of the family, causing Dipper to storm away in a huff.
After grumbling a bit, the twins try to figure out what they will do for their act. Dipper says that he is good at math, and Mabel comes up with the idea to have audience members come up with a math problem that the twins have to solve and enter into a machine using targets that they have to hit by doing some of Mabel's moves. Excited now, the twins go to try and find Yuki.
They walk through town and make it all the way to the library with no sign of the alien. They begin looking for him, but Yuki pokes his head out of the library doors and calls the twins over. The three of them hide in the doorway and Yuki points out what made him hide in the first place. Watching the construction of the stage is a figure in a hoodie. The figure turns towards them and the three of them hide again, unable to see the figure's face, but the twins certain it is the Warlock.
They look outside again to see the figure has disappeared. Thankful he wears a hoodie that makes him an obvious target, they realize that if the Warlock were to make a move, during the Talent Show would be the perfect time. Scared, they start to leave the library, bumping into Pacifica again. She tells them to stop bumping into her and distracting her from planning the Talent Show. Yuki says it was an accident, and after hurried introductions and Yuki letting Pacifica think he is from Japan, she tells him to tell Mabel and Dipper to stay out of the way before heading off.
Mabel calls her back, saying that she does remember them, since Dipper's name hadn't been said in her presence until then. Pacifica yells at them for coming back to town, pointing out their uncanny ability to bring weirdness with them wherever they go. Dipper says they don't bring the weirdness, they just notice what Pacifica and everyone else can't see, causing the two of them to have a fight about their romantic lives before Mabel interrupts again, asking what she will do for her performance.
Pacifica says she will play a song on a flute and dance to the song with her dog at the same time. Yuki is particularly impressed, getting a weird look from Pacifica. Mabel begins to tell Pacifica about her and Dipper's performance, but is interrupted by Pacifica giving them each fifty bucks to not perform, saying that if they do, something weird will show up and ruin the Talent Show.
Dipper notices a flute in Pacifica's pocket, a oddly colored one that she says is some antique she got from some guy. She begins playing it, having an almost enchanting effect on the people nearby. She looks down and stops playing, stomping on the spiders that were drawn to her from the music.
She blames the twins for the spiders, Dipper mentioning hoe they were attracted to her flute music. She says music doesn't attract animals like that, Mabel mentioning that it could if the instrument was enchanted. Dipper asks Pacifica who she bought the flute from, describing the Warlock. Pacifica gasps and walks away when Dipper mentions the Warlock's stutter, confirming to the twins that she got the flute from him. Yuki mentions what could happen if Pacifica plays the flute for a long time during the show, the twins agreeing with his fear even if it doesn't make sense for the Warlock to do. They give Yuki the money and start heading back to the Manor to tell everyone what's up, determined to participate in the Talent Show and defend it from the Warlock.
PART 2:
Later that day, Dipper is exhausted from training all afternoon. He has just done his tenth spinning high-kick in a row, and sprawls out of the ground as Mabel, Candy and Grenda look down at him, the latter two holding the targets for the twins to hit. Mabel complements Dipper on his abilities and the improvement he has made before taking her turn.
As Mabel practices, Yuki shows Dipper a diagram of the target machine he and Soos are going to make for their performance. 9 is at the bottom of the machine, zero and the decimal point at the top. Dipper says they will keep the requested numbers to two digits only, telling Yuki less is more. Yuki agrees with that statement, sharing with Dipper his studies of Earth life- the young look to the old to learn, and Yuki is concerned Stan's greed will rub off on the twins like Pacifica's parents rubbed off on her.
Dipper tells him he and Mabel are not like Pacifica. Yuki asks what Pacifica has against them, and Dipper 'explains' that they have a history, Mabel hoping that Pacifica had stayed nice, but she is just as rude as ever. Dipper then says her family is rich an she is spoiled, causing Yuki to complain about money and greed again.
Yuki goes off to help Soos build the machine for the twins, Mabel wrapping up her training with a group hug from her friends. They complement Mabel on her abilities before they start asking questions about Yuki. The twins explain about Yuki being an Alien and them saving the town. Grenda calls Yuki cute, but Dipper tells them Yuki is over 80 years old. The twins train for another hour before Candy and Grenda head out, the twins going to sleep to rest up before the show tomorrow.
The next morning, Mabel gives Dipper one of her old Paths robes so they can match when they do the performance. Dipper thanks her, but begins thinking about the Warlock. He says that they could tell the police, but they don't have much information on what the Warlock is planning, so there isnt much they can do to fight him. Mabel points out that the Warlock is probably scared of the twins, as he didn't personally attack them last time, so just their presence at the show could be enough to make him cancel his plans.
Felling slightly better, Dipper goes downstairs with Mabel. Stan is using their participation in the Talent Show to help drum up business with the customers. After getting an extra night out of a couple, Stan tells the twins that he will be at the Talent Show so he can promote the Manor if the twins or Soos win, leaving Wendy the only one in the building. Dipper is depressed that he won't get a chance to show off to her on stage.
The three of them head into town, Grunkle Stan encouraging the twins to do their best, getting Dipper out of his mood. The twins sign in and are told they will be performing second-to-last before Pacifica notices them. She tells them to leave before she has them kicked out, but Mabel insists that they can be friends. She says they will never be friends and that they will ruin the show. Dipper mentions her flute, and Pacifica points out a giant box of insecticide to prevent spiders from showing up. She tells them to get out before walking away, not wanting to have to deal with the weirdness she thinks the twins will cause.
Mabel says sometimes you have to move on from someone, and Dipper wonders if she meant anything of that to him before Soos and Yuki show up. The twins mention Pacifica being a brat before Soos and Yuki pull out their machine, numbered target moving up a pole with a screen at the top to tell what targets have been pressed.
Soos demonstrates the machine and how to clear the screen before Dipper asks what he is doing. Soos points out a table with a bunch of tools on it, his keyboard and a boombox off to the side, and tells them that he will be bringing his internet series, Fixin' It with Soos to the stage. An announcer says the show will start soon and Soos heads off, Yuki telling the twins that he is third in line.
The three of them hide behind the stage to watch the introduction. Pacifica introduces the show and the host before walking off the stage, heading towards Yuki and the twins. The twins hide just out of sight as Pacifica recognizes Yuki from the day before. She tells him to tell the listening twins that they will be throw out the next time she sees them. Yuki asks why she would do that if the twins haven't done anything to her, and she explains about the twins being walking disaster magnets and that she doesn't need to deal with that when she's in charge of the show. She tells Yuki to enjoy the show before heading off.
The twins come out of hiding, concerned about Pacifica wanting to throw them out. They head off to scout around in the crowd, leaving Yuki to watch from backstage, all three of them keeping an eye out for the Warlock. They look around for a few minutes and don't find anything, then Soos comes onstage. He asks the audience what he should build, and someone suggests a horse. Mabel begs Dipper to let them watch instead of continuing the search for the Warlock, and Dipper agrees.
The twins watch as Soos slowly but surely builds a clockwork horse. He mounts the contraption, leftover material in tow, and stats to say goodbye. He is interrupted as the horse begins moving, taking him along for the ride. The twins continue to look for the Warlock, searching for a half hour and finding nothing, all while the show continues.
As the act before the twins take the stage, Stan confronts them. They quickly explain about the Warlock and Pacifica's cursed flute, Stan questioning why they didn't take the flute from her. Scared, but not wanting to loose out on his business opportunity, Stan sends the twins to the stage while he continues the search for the Warlock.
The twins make it to the stage just in time for their performance. To the side of the stage, Yuki tells a shocked Pacifica that yes, the twins are going to complete, just like they always were. The twins start their performance, starting with the number 100 and solving simple equations, hitting the numbers of the answer in under five seconds. Even though the scene is kind of tainted by EZB messing up the equations, the audience is suitably impressed with the twins' performance.
The twins leave the stage, Dipper preparing to gloat to Pacifica, who had stayed beside Yuki during their performance. Before he can get a word out, Pacifica takes the stage with her dog and the flute the Warlock gave her in her hands. As much as the twins, Dipper especially, hate to admit it, Pacifica's performance lives up to her bragging. Even if the contest is rigged, she is talented and deserves the placing.
A few minutes into her performance, the twins begin feeling something under their feet. Yuki points out that the birds are beginning to fly away, trees in the forest being pushed aside as something large pushes past them. The rumbling gets stronger, stopping the performance, dragging the twins' attention back to the crowd where a figure in a hood finally makes an appearance.
The crowd thinks an earthquake is occurring and begins trying to find cover as something large destroys the stage Pacifica is on. She falls down as the giant spider starts heading towards her. The twins try to distract the creature, and are able to get its attention. Realizing they have no idea how they are going to fight the spider, Stan yells at them from the panicking crowd. He points to the hooded figure, who has begun running toward the twins.
The figure leaps into the air, fire appearing on and around their arms. The figure punches one flaming fist onto the spider's head before landing in front of it. The figure moves closer to the spider, arms still on fire. The spider tries attacking, but is blocked and gets a jet of flame shot at it. The spider moves to bite the hooded person, but the person send fire shooting at the spider's face. The figure yells and the spider to leave, and the spider complies, the figure extinguishing the flames on their arms.
Preston Northwest rushes onto the stage and grabs the figure's arm, declaring them the winner of the Talent Show. The figure reveals her name to be Arline, and Preston pulls her hood off as Stan screams about loosing his business opportunity and the crowd cheers. Dipper is excited that the hooded figure was never the Warlock, but Mabel continues to stare at the woman on stage, who is thanking the crowd for their support. Mabel tells Dipper that the woman is her Paths Master, making Dipper stare as well as Pacifica follows her father away from the stage, the Warlock's flute in her hands.
Arline walks over to the twins, staring at Mabel angrily for a few seconds before complementing the two of them on their performance. The two women hug, Mabel explaining to Arline about Stan being dead, then being alive but being a robot and them having to deal with Aliens. Dipper tells Arline Mabel isn't lying, and he gets sucked into the hug as well. Arline tells them to go celebrate with their friends and heads off, the twins catching up with Yuki, who points them to where Pacifica's family is getting into a limo.
Ready to say I told you so, the three of them stop short when they hear Pacifica talking to her father. Pacifica says the spider wasn't her fault, but her father tells her that, as she was responsible for setting up the show, she is also responsible if things go wrong. Her father tells her to clean up her mess, and to not come back to the mansion until the wreckage is cleared up.
As the limo drives away, Pacifica angrily throws her flute to the ground. The instrument breaks, green smoke coming out of it. Pacifica collapses to the ground, almost in tears as she realizes the twins were right all along. The twins decide not to say anything to her, but Yuki walks over to the upset girl. He tells her that the spider wasn't her fault before holding out the two fifties she gave the twins yesterday. He tells her to take them back, as the twins never intended to stay away from the show. Pacifica insists Yuki take them, but he says he won't take money from her unless he earns it. Pacifica tells him he can earn it by helping clean up the spider damage, and he heads off.
Pacifica notices the twins watching her and confronts them, less upset and more angry now. She tells them they were right, and Mabel asks if she is okay. Pacifica reveals that planning the Talent Show was her chance to get her dad off her back, but that chance is blown. While she isn't hurt, she is still not okay. The twins apologize to her for giving her a hard time, and she walks away to help with cleanup.
Realizing her life isn't perfect, the twins head back to Arline, Stan on stage trying to save his lost business opportunity. Mabel asks her Master why she is in town, and Arline says that she doesn't have any students currently, so she was able to take a vacation. Arline says that what she has seen of the town so far was impressive, and she tells the twins she will stay around for a bit. Dipper mentions the Manor and calls Stan over, telling him what Arline just said. Stan is less than pleased that the woman he fells ruined his publicity chances will be staying with them, but he doesn't say no. The twins give Arline a tour, passing Yuki and the cleaning crew, Soos still riding his mechanical horse around the town.
Cryptogram:
23-8-1-20 23-1-19 16-1-3-9-6-9-3-1'19 6-1-22-15-18-9-20-5 3-15-12-15-18 1-7-1-9-14?
What was Pacifica's favorite color again?
