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[When the feed flickers on there's something...not right about it. Everything's dark for a second and the screen shakes a little bit, and there's the muffled sound of someone's voice.]

I--! I think I got it! Now just--

[Something suddenly happens though - the device falls and there's glimpses of a tree and flashes of blue and red and then the ground and it's dark again. There's some groaning, and then the view flips to show Wirt, off-center, tied to a tree in the middle of the gnomes' territory. Naturally, he looks like he fits right in with that costume on, but he does not look like he's having a good time in the slightest.]

H-Hello? I-Is this...can anyone hear me? This is Wirt and I...I-I'm. These little bearded guys knocked me over and dragged me off into the woods a-and they all want to marry me, I think? They-- They've got me tied up and I could like really, really, really...j-just. Someone help? Help me? Please?

[It's becoming more and more apparent that Wirt doesn't realize he turned the video on too, and that people can see his sad, gnome-related predicament. He's also not good at throwing his voice and is just generally pretty hard to hear.]

Serious, c-can someone come untie me? Help!

[It takes him a couple of minutes, but eventually he manages to end the recording with his foot. Everyone will get a super good look at his mismatched shoes in the meantime.]

[ooc: Dipper and Mabel are going to come to the rescue, but anyone else is welcome to chime in and laugh at his predicament or offer sympathy or whatnot.]

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[This is making Wirt increasingly uncomfortable, not because he doesn't want to be saved - no, he absolutely wants someone to come save him, so that's not it. It's just that he's genuinely having a difficult time gauging how much time passed, especially since the gnomes dragged him...a few days ago, at least. He's pretty sure it was a few days ago.]

Uh...

[But that feels so dumb. A normal person would be able to answer that question, right? Wirt tries to shrug, but he's tied tightly enough that he can't really.]

I-I...I don't think it was that long? I'm-- I'm not really sure...but, um. Thank you. I really appreciate it.

[Especially since Wirt sort of knows he isn't being that helpful right now.]

_{[Only in idealized hero tales are kidnappees expected to free themselves with a needle and thread and creative imagination. The average child is no Robinson Crusoe wunderkind, Victor is aware. He spares no notice of Wirt's internalized frustration, too busy making his way outside but in such a way that he can still hold the device up and see Wirt on the screen.

So long as they have this connection, Victor can reassure himself Wirt's coming to no harm at the hands of his gnome friends.]}

Of course I'm just going to leave you out there.

_{[Appalling to do otherwise. And if Victor meets with resistance, that's what firearms were made for.]}

I'll work out the rest, but keep your device on as long as you can. We can keep talking this way.

Okay. I-I mean, I kind of can't turn it off since it's on the ground now and I'm tied to a tree but...I-I'll. I'll leave it on. Thank you. Thank you so much.

[Having anyone offer to come and save him is touching. Honestly, he wasn't sure if anyone would even notice or care that he was gone.

Suddenly he looks up though, like he heard something nearby. Since the device is on the ground, it picks up the noise relatively well - there's something rustling in the bushes.]

...Uhhh.

I know. But if they should notice, do your best.

_{[He's aware Wirt can't do much in his current condition; however, Victor can't be sure these creatures won't try to quiet the boy and do him further harm, which is the most important concern, matched only by the need to actually find him.

Focused on taking the stairs down, Victor is second to hear the noise. Absently, he assumes it's static as sometimes happens with the devices, but it continues.]}

What? _{[Wirt's sound uncertainty brings him to a stop.]} What do you see?

[Wirt's trying to keep quiet so he doesn't call attention to himself, but it makes him hard to hard over the transmission.]

I-I think they're--

[The rustling gets louder and Wirt tenses. Then, in case Victor had been skeptical of Wirt's claims, there's a sea of little men in red and blue (oddly reminiscent of Wirt himself) with bushy beards.

Unfortunately, they make it very hard to see. Mostly because one of the gnomes accidentally stomps on the network device, killing the feed immediately.

If Victor continues searching, he'll eventually find a clearing and some loose rope forgotten at the foot of a tree. Someone else beat him to the punch.]

_{[He brings the device closer, straining to make out what Wirt is whispering. What's happening?

Victor doesn't have to wonder long--the gnomes swarm into the frame in a cacophony of strange outfits and hats.]}

Wirt. _{[The screen goes black.]} Damn it.

_{[How much should he worry about the intentions of a band of gnomes? It's all so ridiculous. He can hardly believe he's rushing outside to track down a boy abducted by living lawn ornaments, his device clutched in his fist.

Following a trail is theoretically easy, but it takes Victor more time than he'd like to find the clearing he'd seen on the screen. It's quiet now, not a gnome in sight. Neither is Wirt for that matter. Taking into account every clue in the broadcast, he eventually triangulates where Wirt must have been sending the video from.

There's no boy. No blood, either, which is a relief. Just rope resting at the base of a tree. Had those creatures taken him again, or someone else...?]}

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