Danny studied his surroundings as he flew, his unorganized mind filled to the brim with thoughts and questions. One thought nudged out at him, and he flew back to his family's RV and grabbed a Fenton Thermos out from under the seat. As quickly as possible, he flew to the stream. The meadow was in sight in less than a minute, and he watched his friends from above for half a second before swooping down and laying his feet against the soft ground.

Dipper flinched at his arrival, the sudden sight of a new person scaring him. He shook off this feeling and lunged for the journal, grabbing it out of Danny's hands and flipping through it in earnest. Everyone gathered around to watch, Wendy and Stan occasionally eyeing the ghost while Jazz walked over to take a spot by her younger brother.

"Can I talk to you?" Danny inquired quietly, turning his head to face his sister. He saw Stan narrow his eyes and inwardly flinched. The man was surprisingly scary, and it was extremely uncharacteristic of him. For a second, the teen considered the thought that Stan had taken a dip in the stream.

"Sure," Jazz shrugged, though her voice was tinged with worry. They walked slowly towards the edge of the meadow, occasionally throwing glances back at the group.

Once far away enough away, Danny glanced around and sighed loudly. He blinked slowly, gathering his wits as he slouched in front of his big sister.

"So they know?"

"What?" Jazz made wild gesture, an obvious sign that she was lying. "What would make you think that?"

"I got the journal." Danny crossed his arms. "It was flipped to the halfa section."

"Wow, how exciting! There must be more halfas out there!"

"Jazz ..."

"I didn't tell them," Jazz admitted. Her own shoulders slumped forward as she looked at her brother in defeat. "Pacifica and Wendy got to the Shack before I did."

"And you just explained everything?"

"Of course not!" Jazz looked betrayed. "I would never do that to you. I told them that you would explain it and then that merpsycho showed up--"

"Serafina," Danny offered.

"What?"

"Her name is Serafina. She was working with some triangle dude until the two of us totally went rogue on him."

"You changed?"

"I'm fine, Jazz."

"Yeah, but ... You turned?"

"It wasn't me. It was like something was controlling me, and I was forced to watch. Look, I'll explain it to you later. We have bigger problems at the moment."

"I consider your mental health to be a very big issue, Danny."

"Hey, Dipper! You find anything in that journal?" The teen winked at his sister before hurriedly flying away.

"Don't you dare ignore me, Danny!" Jazz shouted after him, jogging to keep up. Ugh, she thought warily. Little brothers.

"Right here," Dipper gestured to a page, his heart pounding. "I think this is it. But I don't have my black light."

"Oh. Well, maybe this will help ..." He leaned forward and his hand lit up in an ectoplasmic glow, throwing the journal into green shadows. Purple writing appeared on the page, and everyone leaned forward in awe.

"Woah," Dipper muttered, glancing at Danny before focusing his attention back on the page. Was this really the teen he had become friends with? Yeesh, he thought in disbelief. And I think my life is hard. At least I'm not a ghost living in a house with ghost-hunting parents.

"Fluvius Cantatis," Dipper read, his brow furrowing. "Turns any normal living creature into a monster based on its personality. There's a theory here that it's the cause of Gravity Falls' strange anomalies."

"Can we skip to the part of how to get it off?" Mabel inquired sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Dipper scanned the page. "It ... It doesn't say."

"What?" Everyone inquired at once, leaning forward to see for themselves.

"No, really," Dipper promised. His voice was beginning to get shaky as he panicked. "It doesn't say! The journal says everything! What're we going to do?"

As if on cue, the crew turned to look at Danny. He stared around quizzically before raising his hands in submission.

"Hey, you got me, I have no idea how to change you all back to human."

"How'd you do it in the lake?" Pacifica queried eagerly. She wanted to change back just as much as everyone else.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." The words came out of his mouth involuntarily, like they were second nature to him. Protecting his secret had always been the most important thing.

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Danny, you can drop the act. We know the truth. Just do your little do-hicky thing and change back human so we can take you seriously."

"I happen to think this jumpsuit is very fitting for the current situation," Danny argued. Anything to get the subject off of him.

"Danny," Jazz coaxed, placing her hand on his shoulder. "What happened when you changed back?"

"I don't know!" The teen threw his hands into the air. "Sam usually does all the thinking!"

The group shared questionable glances as Jazz patted her brother on the back.

"Just tell us what was going on during the switch."

"Okay," Danny muttered. "So, I was dying, I mean like, actually dying," he paused to take a glance at the group in front of him, "and then I saw you guys all fall into the water. I freaked out. I was trying to get Sera off of me and I was yelling at her to let go, and then my Ghostly Wail went off. Next thing I know, I was setting Dipper back down on the grass beside the lake. I think it was just a ghost thing."

"So you have to be in a near-death experience?" Wendy inquired. "No, no way. I'm not doing that."

"I think it's more of a personal revelation thing," Jazz offered, her finger on her chin in a pondering gesture. "I mean, for Danny, he thought his friends and family were going to die. He's been afraid of that for a while now."

"Shut up, Jazz," Danny muttered, his cheeks getting hot. He didn't like to talk about his weaknesses in front of people who had just discovered his secret. He couldn't even muster up the courage to turn back human in front of them!

"So, what?" Stan queried, finally taking that time to join in the conversation. "Are we gonna sit in a circle and talk about our feelings?"

Mabel laughed loudly. "I'm not touching any of you."

Jazz's eyes widened. "No. I think it has to do with your personalities. Can I see that journal, Dipper?"

Dipper looked up at the red-headed girl and sighed, hesitating before giving it to her.

"Right here," she announced, pointing an elongated finger at the page. "It says right here: 'turned into a monster based on its personality.' I think your personal revelation has to do with what you turned into. Some kind of personality trait you've been suppressing all your life."

Jazz was on a roll. She jumped up and down, giddy with excitement. "Dipper, you're secretly scared. You've always been. You just want to grow up and be brave, so you don't let anyone know that you're actually terrified."

"Hey!" Dipper shouted, his cheeks turning a bright pink color.

"And Mabel!" Jazz's hair swished as she turned.

"Don't you dare say a word about me."

"You've always wanted to be the epitome of innocence! Since Dipper is always the pessimist, you think you have to be an optimist! All your sourness and unhappiness built up underneath you until it turned you into a sassy, annoying unicorn."

"This sassy, annoying unicorn is going to walk over and punch you right in the--"

"And, oh, Wendy! You've always been the independent, free one. The one who doesn't care what people think. Your anxiety and sadness caused you to turn into an angry, uptight wolf."

"Jazz, I think they're all going to strangle you if you keep talking," Danny muttered under his breath.

"What about me?" Pacifica piped up. She looked down at her own form in confusion and concern. "Why did I become this?"

Jazz furrowed her eyebrows in thought, but Mabel beat it to her.

"Pacifica, it's because you're a stuck-up rich kid who would actually be nice if it wasn't for your dumb parents," she growled. "You look like Medusa with that hair, and Medusa was all about control. You always submit to your parents wants, and you never say anything for yourself."

Pacifica's eyes began to well up with tears. "You don't actually mean that."

Mabel smirked. "Oh, honey, I--"

The meadow was suddenly alight in a bright white glow.