Author's note: Greetings, fellow fanfic authors! Here is the first chapter of a fanfic of mine that was first posts to Tumblr between January and February of 2017. You can read that version if you'd like to by looking through the 'Danni's drabbles' tag on my Tumblr, but I'd recommend reading this instead. The story itself has not been altered in the slightest, but several chapters were condensed in this version (for example, this first chapter combines the prologue and first chapter of the Tumblr version), grammatical errors and the like have been fixed, and I was actually able to properly format the story here! (I use my tablet to write and post fanfiction, and for some reason, I can't seem to get formatting to work properly on mobile Tumblr...? smh).

The majority of this story is mine and mine alone, but the creation of this story wouldn't have been possible without my best friend Kaylee, known as ichipine over on Tumblr. This entire story is based off of a Skype RP we did over the summer, and Kaylee made several contributions to the revised plot of the fanfic. In fact, quite a bit of Mabel's dialogue was written by him! I wouldn't have a full story without his help, and I can't thank him enough - not only for helping out with this, but for being such a wonderful friend. c:

I hope you enjoy this first chapter! More are on the way! Please feel free to rate this and leave your thoughts in the review section. Thank you for reading!

- Danni


Dipper gently turned the page of his newest mystery novel and adjusted the UFO blanket that was wrapped around his shoulders, bringing it closer to him. Weird, he thought, for it to be chilly at night in July…

The watch lying on the table next to his makeshift twin bed read 1:58am. For once, all was still and serene in Gravity Falls. Even the owls, nocturnal by nature, seemed to have turned in early. Bedtime for the Mystery Twins was 10:30, and Dipper's twin sister, Mabel, had been fast asleep for hours, with her treasured pet pig snuggled up by her side.

But Dipper just couldn't bring himself to sleep.

Not after the night he'd had the previous night.

Or the two or three nights preceding it.

For nearly a week, Dipper had been experiencing intense nightmares every time he tried to sleep. Now, nightmares were something he had gotten used to, between dealing with terrifying creatures of the night nearly every day and his own personal anxieties. But these were no ordinary bad dreams, you see; not the kind one gets from minor fears of monsters in the closet. No…these were a twisted, disorienting kind of frightening.

Just as twisted and disorienting, in fact, as one certain little top-hat-clad, one-eyed, nacho-shaped demon the twelve-year-old sleuth had come to know far too well…the demon he knew had to be responsible, somehow, some way.

Dipper just couldn't get the horrifying visions out of his mind. Even as he sat there, attempting to use fiction as a distraction, hazy memories of those terrible dreams - distorted and incomplete, but unsettling nonetheless - flashed through his head. The more he tried to calm himself down and convince himself that the dreams weren't real, the more wary he became. Something just wasn't right about the situation…at all. And he could feel it…

Suddenly, he was shaken out of his anxious thoughts when he sneezed. Twice. He'd been doing that off and on all night, but chalking it up to allergies, he just sniffled a little bit and went back to his book.

Mabel woke up to the sound of Dipper sneezing. "Dipper?" She flipped onto her side to look at the clock. "Is it breakfast time?" She rubbed her eyes and found out it was not.

Dipper picked his head up. "Oh, sorry, Mabel…" His voice stuck a little, so he quickly cleared his throat. "Did I wake you up? Was I, like…reading out loud again?"

"No, I just heard you sneeze a little…or I thought I did." Mabel yawned. "Why are you still up, bro? It's pretty late."

"I, um…just thought I'd get a little reading in before bed, that's all," Dipper quietly fibbed, not wanting to worry her.

Mabel became a little concerned. "Did you have a bad dream, Dipper?"

"…No." Dipper looked down. "Didn't…really give myself the chance to have a nightmare yet…"

Mabel sat up a bit. "Wait. So…you haven't slept yet?" She grew even more concerned then. "But you haven't been sleeping much at all…you gotta try to get at least a little sleep. You're gonna get SUPER tired if you don't."

"Aw, Mabel…I'm sure I'll fall asleep eventually," Dipper reassured her. "Reading...helps me keep my mind off of things. And, hey…at least this time I'm not out of it enough to start eating my own shirt, right?" He laughed a little just thinking about how silly that last sentence sounded.

Mabel giggled a little with him. "I guess, if you say so…" She plopped her head back down on her pillow. "Hey, what if I stay up with you? Maybe talking could get your mind off stuff, too."

Dipper smiled a little. "Aw, I appreciate it, sis, but…you staying up super late and losing sleep isn't good for you, either. You're just gonna end up with bags under your eyes…" Suddenly, he sneezed again and pulled his blanket around him a little tighter.

Mabel frowned a bit. "You sure you're okay? You've been sneezing a lot…"

"Yeah…just…" Dipper sniffled a little bit. "I think my allergies are just being stupid. As usual…" he said, rolling his eyes. He looked over and saw how worried his sister was. "Hey…if it makes you feel any better, I promise I'll at least try to sleep a little once I finish this chapter. Between reading this and talking with you…at least I'm not thinking about nightmare fuel anymore. Thanks, sis."

"Don't mention it, bro-bro." Mabel smiled wide, feeling a little relieved. "I should let you get back to reading then." She tucked herself in and got comfy. "Goodnight, Dippingsauce."

"Goodnight, Mabel," Dipper said. He went back to reading his book.

Silence came over the room for a moment.

"Also, Dipper?"

"Yeah?"

Mabel shifted a bit. "You sneeze like a kitten."

A pillow flew across the room and landed on Mabel's head. She and Dipper both burst out laughing.

Mabel soon fell back to sleep. As promised, Dipper soon closed his book, blew out his lantern, and tucked himself into bed as well. Though it did take him a while, he eventually drifted off into a light sleep…but unbeknownst to either twin…a strange shadow lurked outside. Not one belonging to a tree or an animal…but an eerily familiar triangular one…


The next morning, Mabel was greeted by soft summer sunshine and the twittering of birds…and then a few kisses from Waddles.

Mabel woke up giggling and smiled to see her piggy friend. "Good morning, Waddles." She booped his nose with her nose. "Good morning, Dipper!"

She turned to look at his side of the room, but Dipper was still curled up in a little ball under his blankets, sound asleep.

"Aww." Mabel smiled and decided to let him get the rest he needed.

She took her clothes and tiptoed down to the second-floor bathroom. Soon, she was down in the kitchen having breakfast with Grunkle Stan. He was quick to ask where Dipper was, but Mabel explained to him that he needed extra sleep, and Stan agreed to let him come to work late.

Several hours later, however, Stan had already been giving tours for quite some time, and Dipper was still nowhere to be found.

It was then that Mabel decided to check up on him, just in case. She went up into the attic and peeked at his bed.

The door squeaked a little as it opened. Dipper, who was just starting to wake up, groaned softly and turned over. Mabel noticed that he seemed to shiver, just a little bit, as he curled himself into a tighter ball.

"M-Mabel?" he said quietly, picking his head up a little. "What…time is it?" When he spoke, his voice didn't sound quite right, and suddenly, a muffled sneeze came up from underneath the covers.

"It's still early; don't worry." Mabel quickly walked over to his side. "Are you feeling okay? You don't look so good…" She reached out to touch his forehead…and her eyes widened. "Dipper, you're burning up!"

Dipper sneezed again and slowly sat up, holding his head. His face was pale and flushed, and his cheeks and nose bright red. "Ugh…yeah, I-I don't feel so hot…" He soon started coughing, and he sounded terrible. He shakily began to climb out of bed, but Mabel was quick to stop him.

"Uh, NO…hot is EXACTLY how you feel! You gotta stay in bed," Mabel cried, the concern evident in her voice. "Maybe this is 'cause you haven't had much sleep recently…" She frowned at the thought. "I'll go tell Grunkle Stan so he can get you some medicine."

Dipper tried to object, but dizziness overcame him. "Okay…" He cleared his throat and wrapped his blanket back around himself as Mabel headed off to find their grunkle.

Downstairs, Stan was in the main exhibit room of the Mystery Shack, giving a tour to some Canadian tourists who were taking a bus tour through the Pacific Northwest. "Be prepared for the SHOCK of your life…literally, shock. I'd keep the weird...cordless phones at a safe distance. Behold-"

Suddenly, he felt a small hand tugging on his suit jacket and paused his speech. When he looked down, there was little Mabel. "Hold on a sec, folks. I'm gettin' a message from one of my little elves here." The tourists giggled at that.

Stan took Mabel aside and bent down to her level. "Sweetie, what're you doin'? What's up?"

"Grunkle Stan, Dipper just woke up, but he looks a little...under the weather," Mabel replied. "I thought you might have some medicine to help him feel better."

"Under the weather?" Stan didn't let it show, but he became a little concerned himself. "How serious're we talkin'?"

"He looks pretty bad...I think he might have a fever." Mabel looked a bit sad as she said it.

Stan patted her shoulder. "Okay. Calm down, honey; I'm comin'. Just give me a minute…" he said gently. He cracked open the gift-shop door, where Soos was in the process of changing lightbulbs. "Soos! Dipper's sick, so you're gettin' your wish. I need ya to take care of these tourists. And don't be afraid to extort as much cash out of 'em as possible! The economy's better in Canada!"

"Aww, poor little dude." Soos straightened his hat, a determined look on his face. "I shall not fail you, Mr. Pines."

Stan came back into the exhibit room and laughed nervously. "Sorry about the interruption, folks; looks like I'm gonna have to cut this short and head off for parts unknown." The tourists were quick to "aww" in disappointment. "Ah, ah - have no fear, dear tourists. No more than usual anyway. I'm leavin' ya in the capable - hopefully, capable - hands of my handyman/henchman, Soos. Have a spooky daaaay…" he said dramatically as he walked away. Then, he turned to Mabel, completely serious. "Alright. Take me to 'im."

Without hesitation, Mabel took his hand and led him upstairs.

Dipper picked his head up at the sound of Mabel walking in with Stan and tried to act like he wasn't that sick. "Hi, Grunkle Stan…" he said hoarsely before sneezing again.

Stan walked over and put his own hand on Dipper's head. "…Oh, boy." He was really worried then, but refused to show that, internally, he was freaking out somewhat. "Stay. There. I'll be right back."

Mabel tried to give him a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Dipper. I'm sure you'll get better in no time…with help from Dr. Mabel and Nurse Waddles!" Waddles then walked over and sat nearby the twins with a small oink.

Dipper managed to smile a little. "Thanks, sis," he said quietly, sniffling. Mabel grinned back, feeling glad she could lighten up the mood.

The twins heard Stan grumbling down on the second floor. "I do not believe this; of ALL the times…" He came back upstairs shortly, this time with a thermometer. "Well…I got nothin'. I normally do all of my stockpilin' before Halloween, so the Shack's wiped out. I'm gonna have to make a medicine run, but before I go anywhere…" He stuck the thermometer in Dipper's mouth. "I gotta know what I'm dealin' with here, kiddo. Don't move."

Dipper mumbled what was probably an 'OK'.

Stan then turned to Mabel. "Hate t'ask you this, but I need Soos and Wendy t'manage the Shack by themselves while I'm gone - Lord help us." He rolled his eyes at the thought of it. "Y'think you can keep an eye on your brother while I'm not here?"

"You got it, Grunkle Stan," Mabel replied with a thumbs up.

"Thank you," Stan said…and then acted as if it had been painful for him to say it.

Suddenly, the thermometer beeped. Dipper mumbled something when it beeped, but nobody could tell exactly what it was that he said.

Stan took it back…and winced a bit when he saw what it said. 100.4. "Well…you're not dyin', but you're certainly not leavin' that bed, either."

"Fair enough," Dipper replied, coughing.

Stan patted Dipper on the shoulder. "Alright. Wendy should be comin' in for her shift any minute, so I gotta give orders." He was about to leave…but he peeked back in for a second. "You...kids gonna be alright here by yourselves, or...?"

"Don't worry about it. Me and Waddles got it covered." Mabel put an arm around Waddles and smiled.

Stan couldn't help but smile a bit, too. "Alrighty. Hang in there, kid," he said to Dipper. "See you kids later." And with that, he headed out to his car.

"Bye, Grunkle Stan-" Dipper called after him. He quickly realized that that was a mistake, though, when his throat began to burn. "Ow."

Mabel frowned and put a hand on Dipper's shoulder. "Take it easy, okay?"

Dipper nodded. "Mhm…" He suddenly grabbed the box of tissues he kept next to his bed and sneezed into one. "Okay...this…is seriously the worst. Who the heck gets this sick in the middle of the summer?"

"It does seem a little weird…but all we can do now is help you get better." Mabel tucked him in and fixed his pillow. "Do you need anything?"

"Um…just a drink, if you don't mind," Dipper replied.

Mabel nodded. "Sure thing!"

She could hear Dipper cough a bit as he snuggled back down into his blankets. As she headed downstairs, she found herself deep in thought. Something felt…off to her. At first, she thought that she was just concerned that Dipper had become so ill so quickly, and in the middle of July, yet. While she was definitely worried about him, that wasn't it. She shrugged it off, for she wanted to remain focused on getting her brother well again…but for a moment, she wondered whether or not something about the whole situation just felt…unnatural.