After ten thousand years, I have awoken from my slumber. FEAR MY WRATH MORTALS! And by wrath I mean short fluffy/slightly melancholy fanfic. So yeah, first time I've written fic in a good long while. Probably not going to be a regular thing in all likelihood, but still, it was awesome to finally write a GF story again, it's been way too long. Enjoy! :D
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
Tongue stuck out in concentration, Mabel shifted the last of the wires into place, carefully soldering everything where it needed to be until at long last, it was finished.
"And, done", she said with a grin as she wriggled out of the mechanical port in the leg that would soon support the new creation. Next to her, old man McGucket lifted up his welding mask to look at her, a big smile forming on his face.
"My, that was quick work lil' missy. Yer a dab hand at this robot kerjiggery", the enthusiastic old man said.
"Aw, shucks", Mabel said, modestly flapping her hand at him. "I've been practising electrical stuff for years now. For the purposes of making light-up sweaters of course".
"Hmm", McGucket said, tapping his chin. "That sounds mighty clever. I could use one o' them to ward off the owl-bat critters what invade m' junkyard".
"I'll keep that in mind", Mabel said, giggling. "I'd better go take care of some other things now though".
"Alrighty then. Thanks again fer yer help youngin".
"No problem", Mabel called, beaming, as she skipped away. She went a little away from the Shack to take a look at what it had become. Arms and legs, along with weapons and targeting systems, had been attached to the decrepit old house. What had before simply been a strange, musty old house was now a weapon, a gigantic machine named the Shacktron. It was strange, seeing her summer home transformed into a war machine, and yet, so very fitting that this beloved old house, the house that had become a home to herself and her brother, would be what they used to face off against Bill. She could only hope they would soon get the chance to punch him right in his stupid isosceles face.
Around the Shack, everyone was busy at work. The Manotaurs poured molten steel into moulds to make the last few support structures. The Multi Bear hammered away at a panel of shielding that would be placed on the mech's hull. Candy and Grenda were training together, sparring against each other to prepare themselves for working the arms and legs of the Shacktron. Wendy was hanging up on one of the arms doing some welding work, naturally without a harness. All the other remaining townsfolk were rushing around, everyone helping out in some way or another. But try as she might, she couldn't see Dipper anywhere. She had an inkling where he might be, however. She'd always had that natural twin intuition to sense her brother, after all.
Heading inside, she briefly paused to grab two of the last cans of Pitt left in the fridge, then made her way to the living room. She saw Stan sitting in his armchair, head in his hands. She paused briefly, frowning. She wanted to go to him, to say something, maybe just keep him company for a little while, but she had a feeling that her Grunkle wanted to be alone with his thoughts right now. He was being such a grumpy-grump at the moment, but she was sure he would figure things out, in his own time, in his own way.
For now, she returned to focusing on her mission at hand, finding her brother. She made her way through the living room, Stan not noticing her as she did so (because she could move quieter than a ninja when she wanted to). Arriving in the gift shop, stripped bare from the survivors finding things to keep the fire going, she pulled back the curtain and began to ascend the ladder. Before long she scrambled out onto the rooftop and moved over to the little perch above the window, Wendy's deck chair and parasol still there, a strange sight against the glowing, nightmarish sky of Weirdmageddon. It seemed such a relaxed, summery fixture in what had become a hellscape.
Sure enough, there was her brother, sitting with his back against the roof, arms wrapped around his legs and his vest zipped up. Her heart twinged a little at the sight of him. He looked so lost and alone. Following his line of vision, she saw exactly what he was staring at. The Fearamid, looming in the distance, suspended high in the sky. Hundreds of eyebats, merely dots from this distance, were circling the terrible thing. Mabel looked away from it. The less time spent thinking about it the better. She hopped onto the little ledge and began to approach him.
"Hey, brother", she said gently.
Dipper looked up, his expression immediately softening at the sight of her as he gave her a small but genuine smile.
"Hey", he said, voice hoarse.
Mabel plopped down next to him and handed him a can of Pitt, before proceeding to open her own.
"Watcha doin' up here all by yourself?" she asked.
Dipper shrugged.
"Just needed time to... to think about things".
Mabel nodded. She glanced back at the fearamid for a moment, to which Dipper's gaze had returned, but snapped her eyes away just as quickly. She scooched closer to her brother and nestled into his side, letting her weary head flop onto his shoulder as she drew herself into a ball. Dipper immediately rested his head against hers and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his fingers tightly gripping into the wool of her sweater. She could feel him trembling a little, though he was clearly trying to hide it.
"What sort of stuff are you thinking about?" Mabel asked quietly, though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.
"You know, just... things. About how we're going to fight an all powerful chaos god, wondering what's gonna happen to us, worrying about Grunkle Ford".
Mabel's heart clenched. Every time she thought about her lost Grunkle, it hurt so badly. She didn't want to think about what that monster might be doing to him even right now. When he had possessed Dipper, he had left her that awful note, telling her all about what he was planning to do with Dipper's body when he was done with it. An now, to think of what Bill could be doing to Ford now that he was his captive. She pushed the thought of that awful note aside. Didn't need to pile that on top of everything else.
"Me too", Mabel said. "It's all a lot to take in, huh?"
Dipper nodded silently. Mabel stopped talking for a while, struggling to find words. It was proving difficult. Eventually, however, she managed to choke out,
"Dip? Are we gonna be okay?"
Dipper's grip around her shoulders tightened, her brother letting out a trembling breath.
"Yeah", he said, and Mabel knew he was being sincere.
"How can you be sure?"
"Because of what you said. You believe in us. And that gives me the strength to believe in us too, to believe that we can do this, to believe that we can beat Bill. We'll beat him sis. We'll beat him and then he'll never hurt us or anyone we love ever again".
Dipper sounded like every word of this was hard for him to say, was hard for him to believe, so deep were his doubts, but Mabel knew that he did believe what he said.
"You're right", she said, the little flame of hope in her heart growing just that little bit stronger. "You're right", she repeated, quieter this time, a reassurance to both of them. "We'll do it".
There was silence between them for a long while, both of them simply taking sips of their drinks.
"This is crazy, isn't it?" Dipper said.
"Huh?"
"Just... this whole thing. I mean, the whole summer's been insane, but this really... I mean, did you ever think when we came here that we'd be dealing with the literal apocalypse?"
Mabel couldn't help but laugh a little at that, bringing it out of Dipper as well.
"No. To be honest I was expecting things to be pretty, well, normal. Just a normal summer with normal summer things. I don't think even I could have expected the craziness that went down, especially not this. I just wish this last part never happened. Kinda puts a downer on a great summer, doesn't it?"
"Yep", Dipper replied. "But hey, when this is all over, we'll... we'll never have to deal with this again. It'll be the past".
"Yeah. But... Dipper. Do you think..."
she stopped mid sentence.
"What?" Dipper asked, gazing at her with a questioning and concerned look.
"If... no, when, when this is all over. What do we do?"
"We... go on with our lives, right?" Dipper said, unsure of his own words.
"Do we?" Mabel said, barely suppressing a small sob that threatened to escape. "Dipper, can we really just go on like normal? After all this? What if... what if this messes us up forever?"
Dipper paused briefly, taken aback, the distress in his sister's tearful eyes almost too much to bear. Then, his expression changed to one of determination.
"Then we'll be messed up together", he said.
Mabel couldn't help but giggle. She punched his arm.
"I'm being serious", she said.
"So am I", Dipper said. "Look, Mabel, I meant what I said back in that bubble. Whatever happens next in life, we'll do it together, like we always have. If that means being messed up, even for the rest of our lives, then we'll still do it together and get through it. We'll never be alone in any of this so long as we have each other".
Mabel smiled. She would always be able to rely on Dipper. That was something she could be sure of. He'd always have her back, and she'd always have his. Nothing could stop them if they faced it together.
"So don't worry Mabes", Dipper said, smiling. "We'll stick together through it all. I promise I'll never make you feel like you have to be alone again".
Overcome by a sudden burst of emotion, Mabel let out a sob and tackle hugged her brother, knocking the wind out of him a little in the process.
"I love you so much, you big dumb dork!" she cried, furiously nuzzling him.
Dipper, despite being fairly sure he had bruised ribs now, couldn't help but smile and laugh.
"I love you too", he said, hugging her back, until finally the two of them ended the embrace and sat themselves up again.
"Sorry, got a little carried away there", Mabel said.
"Nah, I think we both needed that", Dipper said, causing the both of them to chuckle.
Then, from down below there came a whoop of excitement from McGucket.
"Yeeeeeehaaaaaawwwww! This thingamajigger is finally ready!" he cried, to which he was greeted by joyous cheering from all present. "Git ready fellers, it's Bill smashin' time!"
In unison, the twins took in deep, apprehensive breaths.
"Alright, let's do this", Mabel said, jumping to her feet.
She held out a hand, which Dipper accepted. She hoisted him to his feet. The two of them looked into each other's eyes.
"I'm scared", Mabel admitted.
"Terrified", Dipper agreed.
The two of them smiled identically. They said nothing for a few moments, and then, all at once, they threw their arms around each other in another tight hug. Mabel hoped it wouldn't be their last. No, she knew it wouldn't be. They were going to do this.
"I love you!" Mabel said again, feeling it needed to be said as many times as possible before they faced down Bill.
"Love you too", Dipper said.
"Just... just in case it's the last chance I have to say it, I'm really sorry for those times I made fun of you and hurt your feelings".
"That doesn't matter", Dipper said, burying his face in his sister's shoulder. "It never did, not really".
"It does matter Dipper, but I... I promise I never meant to hurt you".
"I know", Dipper said, squeezing her a little tighter. "And I'm sorry for hurting you too. I'm sorry for ever accepting that stupid apprenticeship, for ever even thinking I could leave you behind".
"Water under the bridge", Mabel assured him, choking back tears.
They held their embrace for a long moment, simply holding each other for comfort, each of them reassuring themselves against all hope that it wouldn't be the last time. Reluctantly, the two of them slowly pulled apart. They kept their hands clasped together.
"Alright, let's do this", Dipper said. "Let's save our Grunkle, beat Bill, and then go face our future, together".
"Together" Mabel agreed.
They gave each other one final smile, filling one another's hearts with hope and courage. Still hand in hand, the two of them headed back into the Shack. No matter how much uncertainty they were facing, no matter how terrifying what they were about to do was, one thing was for sure. Together, they were unstoppable.