PART 1:
In the Rockies of Idaho/Montana, Graupner and Alvis watch as men tirelessly build a railroad into Canada, Graupner upset that it is taking them so long, even though the observation tower of the airport he and Alvis are currently in was built by those same men in just two days. Graupner says they need the 5000 miles of railroad quickly, wanting to be the first civilization in the tundra. Alvis tells him his last communication with Bill Cipher failed, Bill unwilling to make a deal without getting a body in return. Graupner asks if working with a Demon is a good idea, Alvis insisting it is if they want to expand. He then suggests that, since one Demon is being... difficult, they could try another.
In San Antonio, Mabel is more than excited to be in Texas, especially after being stuck in a car for 20 hours. Wendy, her clothes still torn from fighting Romans and Chinese, walks towards a gift shop, Mabel getting a motel room so Soos and Dipper can get some rest. She gives them the key to the room, Dipper giving her his car keys and vest so she can bring the bags in later.
As she throws Dipper's vest in his car, his phone begins vibrating, Mabel recognizing Zander's number. Savoring having a moment alnoe with him, Mabel answers the phone, her whimsy nature making him laugh out loud. Recovering, he tells her the next Starkissed is close, but it is very mobile, and it doesn't stick to paths, instead cutting through the wilderness. He warns her to be careful, admitting to her that he has a bad feeling about them maybe being in trouble before he hangs up.
Mabel and Waddles head into the gift shop, helping Wendy pick out a jacket, Mabel excited about doing something normal. She says she probably got into normalcy when her parents got involved, the memories of Gravity Falls disappearing popping up again. The girls say they have each other and they will survive, no secrets and everyone getting closer. Wendy is able to not reveal Dipper's magic usage, the two finishing their shopping and heading outside.
Mabel and Waddles hear a familiar sound, the two of them running away from Wendy towards a pen full of pygmy goats. Wendy walks up just as the woman in charge of the goats tells them the petting zoo is closed, telling them to tell their friends she doesn't want to get involved in an investigation, wanting to keep her goats safe. Mabel declares she'll protect the animals, a request for help coming from behind them.
From the shadows of nearby trees, Geoffrey, Ben, and the rest of the NPPP step out, the goat woman yelling that they think they can stop it. The guys explain that the woman is talking about the Chupacabra, and that their camera crew bailed on them after Wendy asks where the show crew is. Deciding to have a group meeting, Wendy and Mabel take the NPPP to their motel room, Dipper and Soos upset they were woken from their nap but willing to listen.
The NPPP explain that they were filming more stuff for the show when the pilot aired. After it aired, people started looking up Gravity Falls and the Manor, but were unable to find it, and the show got cancelled immediately. Wendy says the rest of crew could have vouched for Gravity Falls existing, but the guys tell them the crew is only worried about money, so they lied about it all to save their jobs.
The guys say that their reputations are down the drain, so they're trying to find the Chupacabra to get back on TV. As excited as Dipper was that there are other people who remember Gravity Falls, he refuses to help the guys track it down, wanting to focus on the mission. Mabel tries to get Dipper to agree to help, but he refuses until Mabel finally remembers to tell him and the others about what Zander said earlier. Realizing that the Chupacabra is more than likely in possession of the Starkissed, the two groups agree to work together.
As the Chupacabra has been targeting the goats in the petting zoo, they plan to use it as a trap. That night, the NPPP sneak into the enclosure, Dipper and Wendy watching everything from a distance while Mabel and Soos keep watch from in a nearby tree, Waddles on guard at the base.
As they wait, Mabel tells Soos about the romantic tension between Dipper and Wendy, Soos apparently not having been entirely caught up on their status. He says that, if Dipper and Wendy get together, he'll be the only one not really connected to the rest of the group. He admits that he's been feeling like The Load since they've gone on the road, and even a bit before then when he wasn't able to stop Omir. Mabel, not wanting to see the powerhouse of positivity upset, tries to encourage him that he is helpful, but it doesn't work that well.
Then the all-too-familiar smell of werewolves hits her nose. She sniffs again, noticing there is something slightly different about this smell compared to the werewolf scent she's used to. Before she can place it, a creature leaps into the goat pen and begins to attack. Waddles intervenes, but the Chupacabra, or whatever it is, grabs him instead and starts running away. Mabel gives chase, slowly loosing ground as Soos tries and fails to keep up with her. Running through a field at top speed, she is unable to protect herself as the ground gives way, sending her falling down a hill towards a ravine. When this fall stops, something clicks, and she again falls, this time slamming into a floor of cold metal. Before she can get up, a woman in a lab coat walks up and hits her on the head with a cylinder object, knocking her out cold.
PART 2: note
Mabel wakes up, her headache clearing when she realizes she is trapped in a cage in what looks like a science lab, the lab-coat woman from before watching her with tired eyes. Mabel asks the woman, who's nametag reads Dr. Moriau, to let her out of the cage, the doctor complying but telling her to run away quickly. Mabel tries to insist she find Waddles first, but Moraiu tells her the monster will find them soon and she needs to get out ASAP as doors on the other side of the room open.
The Chupacabra enters the room, a collar around his neck, Moraiu again telling Mabel to run before grabbing a baseball bat and weakly 'attacking' the monster. Mabel jumps in and kicks it backwards, Moraiu shocked someone actually fought the monster. It begins to stand back up, Mabel moving to attack again, but Waddles runs out, Mabel collapsing on the ground to ensure he is okay. The Chupacabra lunges forward, but instead of attacking Mabel and Waddles, it grabs the baseball bat Dr. Moriau had aimed directly at Mabel's head.
A confused Mabel watches as Moraiu tries to convince the Chupacabra to let her do it, but the creature tells her no one, and Moraiu eventually agrees. Moraiu questions what they should do with Mabel and Waddles before telling Mabel that he needs her help. Mabel mentions that he took Waddles, but Moriau tells her that he insisted the pig not be hurt, saying he wasn't always a monster. She says that in 1987, German scientists with a lust for power combined the DNA of werewolves with that of a vampire and injected them into a boy that would eventually become the 'chupacabra.'
Mabel realizes why she smelled werewolf earlier, Moriau not believing her until the creature tells her Mabel isn't lying. Moriau says that each full moon, in become harder and harder for Edward to control himself, but with Mabel's prior experience being a werewolf, she might be able to help Edward stay in control, and maybe turn him back to normal. Mabel is about to volunteer, but notices a piece of Starkissed in the collar around Edward's neck. After a few threats about Edward attacking Mabel in the dark, they agree to a trade instead- Mabel gets the Starkissed as long as she stays in the lab while Moriau works on a cure.
Moriau leaves to get supplies, Edward telling Mabel that no one has stayed around when he 'attacks' her. He says that they do that routine whenever they get discovered, nearing 50 times at this point. Moriau returns and quickly takes a blood sample from Mabel. She starts working on the sample as Mabel goes outside for some air, leaving Waddles to play with Edward. Alone with her thoughts, Mabel is able to grieve over what happened to the people in Gravity Falls, burying herself in Sweatertown.
In her head, Zander encourages her that the people of Gravity Falls chose to fight and defend their town, before her brain makes his voice start flirting with her. A voice outside her head calls to her, Mabel peering out of her sweater to see Soos standing above her. Soos bear-hugs her, apologizing for not being able to keep up, but she tells him everyone and everything is fine before leading him deeper into the lab, unable to explain the situation fully.
Back in the lab, Edward is leaning against the wall, Waddles at his feet. Soos attempts to attack what he believes to be an alien, but Mabel tells him about the experiment and that they might be able to return Edward, who is 28 at this point, to normal. She points to the piece of Starkissed in the collar, Soos agreeing with her that helping Edward is a good idea, and getting the Starkissed is a great bonus.
Edward perks up, his ears angled to the entrance, beginning to snarl. Dipper, Wendy, and the NPPP all burst through the door, Wendy moving to attack Edward first. He avoids her and destroys her new jacket, then chaos ensues, Mabel trying to get everyone to stop fighting, Dipper having none of it. She and Soos can only watch the fight... until Moriau returns and turns out the lights, making everyone except Edward blind. Several seconds and seven thuds later, the lights come back on, Dipper, Wendy and the NPPP now locked in the cage Mabel was in earlier.
Moriau says that she needs to find a cure for Edward at any cost, the NPPP asking for the creature to help them regain their reputation. Mabel reminds Moriau about the whole Starkissed, save the world thing and asks her to tell her friends the story she received. Moriau starts telling the story about Russian scientists trying to find a cure for bullshit, which Mabel calls her out on, as the story has changed.
Edward asks his mom to tell the truth this time, Moriau eventually agreeing. They lived in Canada when Edward was little, until he got bitten by a vampire one day. As that took hold, Moriau tried everything she could to fix him, but nothing worked. Just as she was giving up hope, the Starkissed in his collar fell to earth, and showed her that werewolf DNA could stop the vampire effects. Unfortunately, instead of returning him to normal, it turned him into what he is now.
Mabel questions why she's been working for 25 years to undo what happened to her son. Moriau says she did it to make him happy again, but Mabel points out that he's been the 'chupacabra' for 25 years, and has spent at most three years as a human. He's fine how he is, Edward confirming to his mom that he's fine being a 'monster' as long as he has her with him. The two hug, Moriau taking Edwards collar off of him and giving the Starkissed to Mabel.
The two groups head outside, the NPPP deciding to stop trying to be celebrities and start going on adventures for fun again. They give Wendy one of their old jackets as Edward comes outside, giving them a sample of his fur to study. Wanting to cash in on this, the NPPP decide to head back to Oregon, the two groups saying goodbye outside the motel room. Wendy starts monitoring the building while Soos, the twins and Waddles head back into the motel room, intending to get as much sleep as they can during the remaining nighttime hours.
Soos, feeling more than slightly useless, begins remembering times when he was useful, fixing things back at the Shack/Manor, and helping Yuki adjust to earth life when the building was the latter. A voice says adorable, Soos glancing around to see a silver-outlined blue triangle with one eye watching him, a victorian-era hat on the flat head, a parasol held above. The triangle introduces herself as Kelly, saying she would not have been able to find him had he not been looking into his past before offering a better one for him. Soos catapults awake, the twins fast asleep in the dead of night. Telling himself it was just a weird dream, Soos is able to lie himself back to sleep.
Back in the Rockies, Graupner is waiting for an update from Alvis, contemplating if a green rock-eye would be better. Alvis bursts in and tells him that 'she' found them in Texas. She says they will be moving east, and he has already planned a course for them to be intercepted. Alvis says he can send out a new detachment whenever Graupner is ready, Graupner saying that he is ready now.
Cryptograms:
Yrgv zmw wizrm, hvzixs rm ezrm, gsv urev uob yzxp slnv.
Srwv zmw hvvp, urtsg zmw uovv, gsv ulfi zmw hdrmv hgroo ilzn.
Olhg zmw hgizrmvw, wzirmt rm yizrm, szou z kzri hvvph srh urmw.
Mld szmwbnzm drgs mlmv yilpv, zmw lmob gsv hvou gl olzgsv, dszg rh dlihv gszm gsv gizkh lu srh nrmw?
Bite and drain, search in vain, the five fly back home.
Hide and seek, fight and flee, the four and swine still roam.
Lost and strained, daring in brain, half a pair seeks his find.
Now handyman with none broke, and only the self to loathe, what is worse than the traps of his mind?
