Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Thompson! 10 o’clock!”

I should be driving, Thompson thought, as the truck he was currently standing in the bed of lurched to one side. Why am I not driving? I should always be driving…

Setting aside that (entirely accurate) thought as immaterial at the moment, he took aim at the eye-bat Wendy had indicated, squeezing off a couple of rounds and causing the monster to explode in a satisfying rain of viscera. Having bought himself a few moments to breathe, he was more than a little dismayed to find that their troubles were not yet over.

Dammit, we must’ve passed a nest…

“Ah, Wendy? We’ve got some more company…”

The redhead swore, and Thompson was fairly certain the truck would have lurched forward, were she not already pushing it to its limit, given that it had seen better days and they weren’t on anything that passed for a road.

“Just keep blasting, man. We’re almost there!”

Thompson nodded, though his friend couldn’t see, and took aim once more, picking off the nearest eye-bats, while taking care not to damage their cargo.

Whatever you need this for, Dr. Pines, it had better be worth it…

They needed a cooling mechanism, the scientist in question had announced a few days before. Something industrial strength, preferably from a meat locker or something similar, though a refrigeration unit from a grocery store might suffice. He’d been vague on the details of just why he needed this equipment, but then that was nothing that unusual. Dr. Pines liked his secrets, even after all these years.

Although, Thompson thought as he reloaded, Dipper and Candy being all closed-mouthed too is a new twist.

Nevertheless, he and Wendy had been dispatched to find the requested equipment, and find it they had. They’d managed to come across the ruins of an old butcher’s shop about two days from their base. A quick inspection had revealed the meat locker’s refrigeration system to be mostly intact, just disconnected from anything that could power it. Agreeing that this was the best they were going to do, Thompson and Wendy had loaded the equipment in the truck, and set out for home.

They’d almost made it too.

“Thompson! Three more incoming!”

“I see them, I see them.” Thompson muttered, mostly to himself. He took aim and fired again.

One down… two down… three… wait, what? Oh shit, it’s jammed.

Tossing the gun away, he turned and threw open the lid of the truck’s tool chest. Ignoring Wendy’s strident questioning of what the hell he thought he was doing, he quickly searched through the mix of tools and weaponry for an appropriate replacement.

12 gauge? Not the most accurate, but at this range…

He turned to discover that, no, at this range it wouldn’t matter. Because the eye-bat was almost on top of them, and clearly charging up to fire its beam.

Thompson winced. No time to get the gun into proper firing position. This was gonna hurt…

Three explosions happened in quick succession. First, Thompson’s midsection exploded in pain, and the improperly fired shotgun kicked back at him with all the force of an angry mule. Second, the eye-bat exploded, because that’s what happens to eye-bats when you shoot them at close range with a shotgun. Third, the back of Thompson’s head exploded in pain, as the recoil from his shot knocked him back and his head caught the corner of the tool box.

It took a moment for the world to come back into focus after that. When it did, the first thing he registered was that he was being screamed at by a familiar voice.

“Thompson! THOMPSON! Answer me godammit, or I swear to God, you had better be dead, because I will kill you if you aren’t! THOMPSON!”

Now, it wasn’t as though Wendy threatening to kill him was an uncommon occurrence. Usually happened at least once a month or so, with varying levels of seriousness, depending on the situation.

She sounds pretty upset though. I should probably humor her.

“You… you won’t kill me. Think about how quickly you’d kill all the others if I wasn’t around to keep you sane-ish.”

Her immediate response is relieved laughter (with maybe a touch of tears in there. Aww, that’s sweet), so he figures that was a good response.

“That’s probably true, but it won’t matter if you don’t take down these last two. Come on, big guy, I need you to keep it together for a little longer!”

OK, yeah, get it together. I can do that. I think. OK, eye-bats. She said two? Well, that’s concerning, because I see four. Ugh. Looks like a ‘spray and pray’ situation…

He took up the shotgun again (in the correct position this time), straining to concentrate enough to turn the four eye-bats he saw into the two that were actually there, when one of them exploded.

Huh. That’s interesting, because I’m pretty sure I didn’t pull the trigger just now, and…

Well, now! Seems as though you two could use some help!

Huh? Gideon?

The one and only! And Thompson can just see the cocky little smile on the younger man’s face, before the Gideon in his mind’s eye’s brow furrows in concern. You alright there, Thompson? Your head feels kinda… fuzzy

Might’ve got my bell rung a little bit. Thompson admitted. You think you can clear me up long enough to take care of this last one?

And just like that, the last eye-bat exploded. Dimly, Thompson thought he might’ve heard a distant bang just before.

I can do better than that, big brother. Y’all are in the clear now. You just relax, or as much as you can with Wendy driving. I’ll grab Dr. Pines, so he can take a look atcha when you get in. Welcome home.

-------------------------------------------

As they pulled into the abandoned industrial park that housed their current base, Wendy finally allowed herself to breathe normally. They’d done it. They’d done what they’d set out to do, and were now home safe and sound. Or relatively, at least. She’d have to see what damage Thompson had managed to inflict on himself, but he was at least talking more clearly than he had been. Hopefully he’d just been shaken up.

She turned the corner leading to their destination, when a garage door opened to reveal Gideon Gleeful, gesturing for her to enter. She pulled the truck in, and the younger man immediately started pulling the chain to close the door behind them. Coming to a stop, the put the truck into park, killed the ignition, and slumped back into her seat, eyes closed and breathing deeply.

They were home. They were safe.

After a moment of gathering herself, she opened the driver’s door and exited the cab. Coming around the truck, she found he passenger sitting on the tailgate, currently being fretted over by a concerned Gideon.

“Jesus, boy. What in the hell did you manage to do to yourself?”

For his part, Thompson sighed, tiredly batting the younger man’s hands away.

“Gideon, I’m fine. Head wounds just bleed a lot. You know that. It’s really not as bad as it looks.”

“Well, that’s good, because you look like hell.” Wendy remarked, nudging Gideon to the side and inspecting the wound for herself. Thompson just sighed again, and let her look him over.

She smiled a little at that. Thompson could shoo Gideon away (not that it usually did much good, but still…) but he knew better than to try that with her.

“Yeah, it’s not as bad as it looks. Might need stitches though. What the hell happened, dude?”

“AK jammed.” Thompson replied, gesturing vaguely behind him. “Had to grab the shotgun, but by the time I did, there wasn’t enough time to get in position, so yeah…”

He gestured at his midsection then, followed by his head. Wendy winced in sympathy.

“So probably some bruised ribs then too, at least.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think anything’s broken. Breathing doesn’t hurt as much as it should if they were.” Thompson turned back to Gideon then. “Thanks for the assist back there though. I was shook up enough when it happened that trying to take down those last two wasn’t a sure bet.”

“You’re welcome, but I can’t take all the credit.” The blond replied, pointing to the ceiling, where a hatch had opened. “We had ‘No-Miss’ Northwest up in the sniper’s nest.”

As Gideon had said, the familiar form of Pacifica began descending down the ladder, rifle slung across her back, closing the hatch behind her. Before she reached the floor, however, two new arrivals joined the group.

“Wendy! Thompson! So glad to see you home!” Dr. Pines began, by way of greeting, with Dipper trailing behind him. “Though I’d rather see you in better condition. Injuries?”

“Head wound.” Wendy replied before Thompson could. “Probably needs at least a few stitches. I’d check him for a concussion too. He’s been alert enough, but he was pretty out of it right after it happened.”

“Yeah, that will happen after you get hit in the head. It doesn’t mean I have a concussion.” Thompson pointed out, a little sourly.

“You’ll want to check him for internal injuries in his abdomen, also.” Wendy continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “And maybe also for bruised or cracked ribs.”

“Damn, Thompson.” Dipper gave a low whistle at Wendy’s litany of Thompson’s possible injuries. “How’d you manage all that?”

“Had to shoot the 12-gauge at some eye-bats before he was set.” Wendy again replied before Thompson could speak. “Kicked him right in the breadbasket and knocked his head into the tool box.”

“You know, I’m here, and I’m awake. I’m perfectly able to answer questions that people ask me.”

“Of course you can,” Ford replied before the conversation could devolve any further “and I’ll be asking them of you in the infirmary. Candy’s preparing it right now. Once I’m satisfied your condition is managed, we can discuss whether or not your mission was successful.”

The scientist turned to Wendy then, who responded with a half-shurg.

“You’ll have to tell us. I think we got what you needed though.”

“Excellent.” Ford turned back towards Dipper, who nodded once, before they maneuvered themselves to either side of Thompson, threw his arms over their shoulders, and pulled him to a stand.

“Not necessary, you guys.” Thompson groaned. “I’m perfectly capable of walking on my own.”

“We’re not doing this for our health you know.” Dipper retorted as the three began to move towards the infirmary. “You’re both shorter and heavier than us. This isn’t great for my back.”

“Dipper, I promise you I’m not beat up enough I still can’t kick your ass.”

“You probably want to be nicer to the person that’s going to be giving you stitches. Just sayin’.”

“No, you are not. If I need stitches, Candy will be the one giving them. She’s way better at it.”

The two men’s bickering trailed off as they continued down the hall.

Wendy smiled to herself. If Thompson was well enough to get into it with Dipper, whatever was wrong with him couldn’t be that serious. She turned back to the truck then, debating on what to do next. She’d leave the equipment for Dr. Pines to look over for now, but she could probably make sure the tool box was in order and stocked. Not to mention, she’d have to see if there was any salvaging that jammed AK, although maybe she’d have Pacifica take a look at it instead…

Hey, Wendy? Mind hanging back a minute?

At Gideon’s psychic question, she turned back to find he and Pacifica standing next to each other, serious expressions on both of their faces.

We’ve got some things we need to discuss with you.

Chapter Text

Approaching her friends, Wendy felt her eyebrow raise slightly. While not the oddest pairing out of their group (really, after ten years, there were no ‘odd’ pairings amongst them), these would not have been the two she would have expected to call her over for a serious discussion after a mission.

“What’s up, you guys?”

Pacifica turned to Gideon then, who made a ‘go ahead’ gesture, before turning back to Wendy.

“I think I know the answer, but I’ll ask anyway. Before he sent you out, did Dr. Pines tell you or Thompson anything about why he needed the equipment he sent you for?”

“Not really.” Wendy frowned in thought. “Just that he needed a cooling mechanism for whatever he’s been working on. Didn’t give it a lot of thought, honestly. I mean, whatever answer he’d give would probably be something sciencey that none of us would get, so I didn’t think too much about it. Why?”

At her answer, Gideon grimaced slightly, while Pacifica nodded once unsurprisingly.

“We thought as much. And up until recently, I’d have agreed with you. But it’s beginning to become very clear that he, Dipper, and Candy are working on something big. Something big enough that our being in the dark is not acceptable anymore.”

Wendy gave her own grimace, while nodding in agreement. She’d done her best to keep it out of her head during the mission. They couldn’t afford to be distracted by questions like that, out there on the road, but now that they were back, the creeping suspicion she’d been feeling for the past few months was back in force.

She was not alone in this, if the looks on the faces of her younger friends were anything to go by.

Still, before they made any decision on this, she felt she had to play devil’s (or doctor’s) advocate.

“I get what you’re saying, and I’m not saying I disagree, but you know how Ford is. He likes to keep his work to himself until he’s ready. It’s not like he hasn’t done this before.”

Pacifica opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Gideon before she could speak.

“That’s what I said too, at first. But Wendy, this time is different. He’s bein’ real closed-mouthed, even for him, and he’s got Candy and Dipper doing it too. And that ain’t even the whole of it! Now he’s sending us out on long missions to get him what he needs. Dangerous missions…”

The younger man punctuated his statement by gesturing to the truck, where Thompson’s blood was still evident.

Wendy crossed her arms.

“I know, dude. I was there. But us getting hurt on missions isn’t anything new. If it was, Dipper would still have two working eyes, and that’s just for starters.”

“It is new, Wendy,” Pacifica snapped back, the mention of her boyfriend’s old injury adding a slight edge to her voice “and you know it is. When any of us have been hurt before, it’s always been because we were attacked, or working to secure a base, or something like that. Not because Dr. Pines needed some part for some project he won’t tell us about. That’s a major difference.”

Dammit. Wendy was going to have to concede that point.

Before she could come up with an adequate response however, Gideon spoke again.

“Look, Wendy: you and Thompson are tough. No one’s gonna deny that. Still though, sending you out like that was always going to be a risk. Now, Dr. Pines does care about you two. He cares about all of us, and no one’s gonna deny that either. So, what does that tell you?”

“… that he decided the risk was worth it anyway.” Wendy finished, a sinking feeling growing in her stomach. “Which means…”

“Which means” Pacifica cut in “that whatever he’s working on is important. Like, way too important for us to be OK with him keeping it to himself. If it’s that important, we all need to know.”

“And as much as we all hate to say it, he doesn’t have the best track record, making huge decisions and not telling anyone. Perspective’s not his strong suit. Ugh…” Wendy pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to will away an incipient headache. “I think I know the answer to this question, but have either of you gotten anything out of Candy or Dipper?”

“Nothing.” Pacifica replied with a scowl. “With both of them, they either change the subject, or just say that they’ll tell us soon. I haven’t pushed as hard as I could’ve, mostly because I’d rather not fight and it wouldn’t do any good anyway, but we’re getting to the point where something’s got to give.”

Wendy nodded. “Gideon?”

“What? You think if those two wouldn’t talk to Pacifica, they’d talk to me? Girl, I know you’re not new here.”

She just looked at him.

Finally, he sighed.

“Alright. No, I haven’t been able to pick anything up, from either of them. Dipper’s got his head sealed up about as tight as Dr. Pines these days. Doesn’t let anything through, which really only proves our point, I think.”

Wendy nodded.

“And you couldn’t, I dunno, push a little? I’m not saying go snooping or anything, but maybe… shake something loose?” Pacifica asked.

“You know I can’t.” he replied with a scowl “Dipper knows well enough what it’s like to have something in your mind that doesn’t belong there, and he knows me well enough I couldn’t disguise it. I do that, and it’s over between us. I made a promise, all those years ago. You remember, you were both there.”

She had been. Dipper had made him promise, and he had. That he’d never go into any of the family’s head, not without their permission or in a life-or-death emergency. And he never had.

She shook the memory off. They had things to deal with now.

“Candy?”

Another head shake.

“She’s not quite as close as Dipper is these days, but she’s still guarding. Some stuff will come through every once in a while, but I still don’t speak Korean.”

“And you can’t push with her either?” Pacifica was evidently not done clarifying this point.

“I could,” Gideon’s scowl only deepened “but then we’re right back where we were with Dipper. Digging that deep, she’d know I was there, and then it’s all over. I won’t do it. I promised. Now if you two will excuse me, I don’t see any more use in talking about things that aren’t options. I’m gonna go check on Thompson…”

With that, the younger man stomped off toward the infirmary. Wendy watched him go for a moment, before turning to Pacifica with a look the hoped conveyed disappointment without condescension.

She’d never meant to develop a ‘mom’ look, but then she’d done a lot of things she’d never meant to over the last decade.

“You shouldn’t press him about things like that. You know he won’t do it anyway, and all it does is upset him.”

“I do feel bad about it.” Pacifica responded, still looking down the hall where Gideon had disappeared “I know it hurts him, and that’s the last thing I want, but we’re getting to the point where that can’t matter.”

“Do you honestly believe that?”

“Let me answer that with another question.” Pacifica turned back to face her then “With everything we know, everything we just discussed, do you really think whatever is going on is just another one of Dr. Pines’s experiments? Or is it more likely that they’re working on something big, something that will affect all of us, and that they haven’t told us yet because it’s something we might not like?”

Dammit. That was another point to concede. Wendy took a deep breath.

“OK. You’re right, or at least you’re probably right, but we’re not gonna get to the bottom of this by using Gideon as a mental lock-pick. We just need to lay this out, with everyone. Corner them and make them put their cards on the table. If we’re all there, they can’t put us off.”

“Dinner tonight, then?”

“I think so.” Wendy nodded “Assuming Thompson is coherent. Hopefully he doesn’t actually have a concussion.”

“OK. Well, until then, do you need any help with the truck?”

“Actually, yeah. Dipper and Ford can unload the equipment since they wanted it so badly, but can you take a look at the AK? You’re the best with guns.”

“Do you know if it jammed, or just misfired?”

“Nope, had my eyes on the road. All I know is that it worked until it didn’t.”

“Alright, I’ll take a look.”