I did the thing and feel no regret for doing so. Just a warning, this story is not for those with queasy stomachs, as there's a bit of disturbing imagery in it. I tried to keep to a minimum when it came to description.
Plus Dipper's dead! Like that's anything new in my stories... Or is he really? I promise this story is nowhere near as imposing/cliché as it seems at first. And it's not one of those cliché ones where it's just about one of the twins mourning the loss of the other. Trust me, it's all important and makes sense once you get to the ending of this story.
Besides, the original premise for this was a story where Dipper died and Bill (You know, I realized that he's in around 3/4 of my stories. Weird.) Plays stand-in and things just grow worse and worse until- Well be glad it never left my papers...
I threw in a few Nick/CN references for the heck of it, along with a dash of my favourite crack theory: Bill is the author plus that makes him like Stan's brother and the twin's grandparent because that would be a good story idea no?
If you couldn't tell already, I had a blast writing this pile of stupidity. Read at your own risk.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.
"He's not dead. Dipper is not dead."
Mabel silently repeated this chant to herself as she waddled through the snow. It was deep, almost up to her waist, and she struggled to force her way through the strongly packed snow. She kept on walking despite any troubles she faced, forging her way through the forest. In search of Dipper naturally.
The rest of the town may have taken his "death" in stride, and Soos and Wendy and even Stan, but they were wrong. Mabel knew they were wrong of course. No matter how much they insisted that he was dead and never coming back, she knew he was out there. Of course, Mabel had no idea what was locking them in their blind trance. She couldn't get any one in Gravity Falls to do anything other than blindly shuffle around in the snow for a little while. That was how she knew that something had to be wrong. Everyone, everyone but her seemed oblivious to what they were saying.
It was just so cold the way they dismissed her claims. Just... So... Cold... No! That was the winter cold taking. Mabel shivered and tried to snuggle more within the depths of her coat. It was still very early in the morning, the sun was only just starting to rise. But she could barely make out the little hints of orange and red on the horizon. The wind was shrilly blowing, and snow clouds were making their way towards her.
The breeze seemed to cut through her warm jacket and mittens like a razor blade. She knew that she had to keep moving though. To keep herself warm, to stop from collapsing in the cold. Mabel winced when she felt more snow lodge into her boots. It was also freezing down near her toes. They hardly felt like a part of her feet anymore. Of course, that didn't matter.
She knew that she would find Dipper where her family and the rest of the town had last seen him. If she could just show Dipper to her family, prove that he really and truly still had breath in his body, it could snap them out of the trance. That unholly fixation that had all of them wandering around like blind zombies. Spending their money on too much food, hurriedly shuffling around like zombies... Not like real zombies of course. That was just an expression. Real zombies made more noise and looked more human than the hollow shells that were wandering around Gravity Falls.
Even Stan had been spending his money in a less tight fashion than usual. He had been happy to indulge in all sorts of different junk foods. Ordering her favourite kinds of take out food and buying all sorts of sugary things... Something was just not right with that. Mabel hadn't eaten much because she was afraid whatever might be in the food could be the thing that made her think Dipper was dead. Which was wrong and she knew it.
Finding Dipper could be her saving grace, all of their's really. Mabel flinched when a car drove by. She was only walking on the outside edge of the woods. That way no one would really be able to see her, but at the same time if they did she could run farther into the woods for comfort.
She was scared of all those people. She had tried calling home but her parents never picked up the phone. And with all the snow they were getting, the lines would soon be out. She'd have no one to talk to or plead for help with during her entire stay in Gravity Falls. Mabel shivered. Only this time, it was out of fear.
She had snuck out of the Mystery Shack so early in the morning because she couldn't be caught now. Mabel wondered what Stan would do if he caught her without the proof to snap him out of it. How was she supposed to escape this without Dipper there to prove that they were all wrong? That he wasn't dead and they were making up the lies...
The girl came to the spot where the woods ended and a clearing started. The area was hilly and devoid of trees for the most part. A thick blanket of snow covered the expanse in a brilliant while, tinged with a faint red colour. The gale shrieked and howled as she pushed open the iron-wrought gate to step in, drowing out the squeak of the gate's hinges. It really needed some oil.
Mabel now backtracked her steps from the days previous, heading up the winding hill bit by bit. Her feet stumbled and slipped under the hidden icy patches that had formed in the sub zero weather. But the time she reached the top of the hill, Mabel was on her hands and knees. But the girl soon collapsed after that.
Her world was suddenly a flurry of red, white, and yellow as she tumbled down the other side of the hill; plowing through snow banks and getting it everywhere. She felt herself grow so dizzy by the time that she made it to the bottom, she could barely breathe. She grinned a little ar the tiny scare. The ride down had been fun at least, if not leaving her a little nauseous.
"Jeeze, watch where you're going. You could've snapped your neck there!"
Mabel felt her heart leap as she heard a quiet voice.
"Dipper?"
Whoever had spoken didn't reply to her words. Mabel shook her head, attempting to be mad at herself for getting distracted. But that did nothing to abate her rising feeling of enthusiasm. She was getting closer to her goals. She'd be able to save everyone in Gravity Falls from the thing that was messing with their heads soon enough! Dipper was here, he had to be!
Mabel clumsily got to her feet and staggered through the snow. She tripped and fell again and again. Her boots got stuck in the snow and she tripped over stones that were hidden within the deep drifts. Mabel still floundered her way over to the spot where she had last seen her brother. There was less snow there, which of course made sense. There was a light dusting on the frosty ground, but she paid no mind to that. Being able to walk like a normal person was a welcome change. She kneeled down over the spot and wiped away the snow from the grave marker.
Here lies Dipper Pines-
Mabel's eyes widdened in shock. But then she grinned, realizing that it was just those crazy words getting to her. She was only imagining the inscription. Mabel certainly had no idea who this Kirsten Scaal person was! This stone had been around longer than her and Dipper! It had nothing to do with her brother. Of course, assides from the fact that he was leaning against the grave stone.
"More like here lies Dipper Pines!" Mabel giggled to herself. "With an I E... Because, you know..."
"Ha! Good one, Sister." Dipper laughed. "So, what took you so long to get here? Pig die? Superbowl start early? Impending apocalypse to prepare for?"
Mabel snorted at Dipper's question.
"I had to make sure no one in the Shack noticed I was gone dummy!"
Her brother looked behind her shoulder, his grin fading.
"Well, you didn't really do a good job of it twin sibling of mine."
Confused, she turned to look behind her. To Mabel's horror, a familiar red El Diablo had pulled up into the cemetery parking lot. Stand and Soos got out of their seats and started to make their way over to the twins. Already she could hear their voices yelling at her to come over right away and that she was going to be grounded for until college. She turned to grab her brother's arm.
"We've got to run!"
"Er, you do realize that I've been doing my- er, nerd stuff to figure out how to convince them. Right?"
Mabel smiled.
"Oh, so you found a way?"
He gave her a wry grin.
"It might work."
"Mabel Francis Helen Juliet Veronica the III Pines!" Soos yelled at her.
"Soos, her middle name's just Francis." Stan corrected.
"Oh. I was just trying to sound dramatic."
Stan narrowed his eyes.
"That being said, Mabel Francis Pines you get your butt over here or so help me! I told you not to come back here without-"
Stan's voice all but vanished when he saw who was standing next to Mabel. Dipper grinned, his yellow eyes flashing, and waved at his family, amused by their disturbed reactions to him. Stan seemed to choke on his very words, and took a step back. Soos also saw this, and all he could muster was a very faint;
"Not cool dude."
Finding his voice again, Stan managed to say;
"Mabel, get away from that... Thing."
"It's not a thing! It's Dipper!" She insisted, the sinking feeling returning.
There had to be some other way to get rid of their brainwashing! If they didn't believe that this was Dipper in the flesh then how else was she supposed to convince them that Dipper was alive and well?
"That's not my great-nephew." Stan growled.
"But-"
Before Mabel could react Stan had grabbed her by the shoulders and carried her back to the car. She was thrown in the back as wuickly as humanly possible, the door slamming behind her. Stan floored it, tyres skidding dangerously on the icy ground, and he high-tailed it out of the cemetery. Mabel didn't bother to put on her seatbelt. She tried to crank down the window so she could jump out of the car, but Soos grabbed her arm before she could get too far with her escape.
"DIPPER!" She howled.
"That's... Not... Dipper..." Her great-uncle snarled.
Mabel felt tears streaming down her face.
"H-he was there! H-he was there Grunkle Stan!"
"Mabel dude." Soos sighed. "Just... Shhh..."
The man-child started to pet her hair, as if that would be of any comfort to her now. Mabel cried all the way back to the Mystery Shack, and had to be dragged out of the car by Soos. She tried in vain to struggle out of his grip, but the man-child's arms were too strong for her to get out.
The girl went limp, hoping to squeeze out of his hold that way, but this also proved to be fruitless. It was not until they got inside the Shack that Soos let go of her. And that was out of shock. There, balancing on the stair railing, was Dipper. Stan swore and Soos dropped her. Mabel ran over to her brother with another cry of;
"Dipper!"
She tackled her twin into a bear hug, and didn't bother to wait for him to hug back. He stiffened a little, but remained stock-still otherwise. After a confused moment, Mabel looked at her twin. He pushed her away slightly.
"Yeesh, take it easy on the hugs there ki- Mabel." Dipper corrected. "You're going to break my fragile human spine if you keep that up!"
She grinned victoriously and turned to look at Soos and Stan.
"Now do you believe that Dipper's dead?"
"How did you get in here?" Stan ground out, glaring at Dipper.
"Why, I live here don't I?" Dipper asked, sliding down the banister. "How else could I be in here if I didn't live in here?"
As if Dipper had suddenly gained similiar powers to a dream-demon that enjoyed psychologically tormenting the minds of the frail, his face and body were suddenly missing chunks of flesh. Blood and maggots dripped from the holes. He was covered in dirt, as if he had been buried underground. Soos gagged, forcing himself to look away from Dipper's decaying body.
"Dude that is so messed up."
Dipper restored himself back to his usual body.
"Besides. You left me alone in the cold by myself. How could I not want to be inside with my family?"
"Get out."
"But Stan! I'm your favourite great-nephew!" He said, batting his eyelashes. "You really want to just leave me all by myself again?"
"You're not Dipper." The elderly man shortly said.
"But Grunkle Stan-"
Stan flinched, his hands curling into fists. Despite Mabel's protests, he picked up Dipper by the scruff of his neck and opened the front door. He tossed that... Monster out into the snow, not feeling any regret as he watched the demon-in-a-boy's-body fall unceremoniously in a heap.
"Stan! I think I hurt something!" Dipper cried. "Please! Something doesn't feel right in my a-"
"My great-nephew is dead."
Stan slammed the door shut and heaved a great sigh. He covered his face with his hands, shuddering. Whether it was from the cold outside or the thing waiting there was debatable. Soos helped Stan back up to his feet, even as the elderly man attempted to protest the assitance.
The man-child cast a warning look at Mabel, just daring her to say anything other than what Stan had just said. She gulped, hiding back in the shadows. Their attempts at convincing would go nowhere. Not until she was able to get him to act more like her brother again. They aways got so frightening with the brainwashing clouding their vision.
"Mabel! I know you can hear me Mabel!"
For a moment, she felt herself lock up. What should she do? What would helping him achieve?
"It hurts so badly!"
Mabel unfroze, and quickly went down the stairs. She unlocked the door and admitted her brother inside. He smiled greatfully, cradling his injured arm. To Mabel's surprise, he also had a black eye. Mabel was not sure how being thrown in to the snow could do that so quickly, but she shouldn't be questioning it at all.
The twins quickly went upstiars to the attic, taking pains to remain as silent as possible. The moment she had shut the bedroom door, Mabel asked;
"What hurts?"
"This arm." Dipper said, holding up the opposite arm from before.
Mabel noticed this, but knew better than to question what he was saying. It was fruitless any ways. If that was the arm that hurt him, then that was the arm that hurt him. Mabel went over to Dipper's bed and smoothed back the perfectly folded covers. There she found the emergency first aid kit. They kept it there in case of emergency or Stan asking too many questions about something.
When she grabbed the brandages and pins, Mabel did not fail to notice that her brother had switched arms again. Shaking her head, she set to putting both of them in slings. After all, maybe it was both of them that were putting him in pain after all.
Next, she found some of Dipper's clean(ish) clothing. She grabbed his vest and typical orange shirt, along with some grey (It was the middle of February after all) pants. She tossed them at her brother, but he made no move to catch them. Instead he let the clothes land on his head.
"You need something clean to wear." Mabel said. "Even Waddles doesn't wear that much dirt!"
"Hey, I was hanging out in a graveyard, Sister. Of course I'm covered in dirt."
"That doesn't mean you have to dress like you stole clothing from a morgue!"
Dipper looked at her and laughed.
"How am I supposed to put this on while I've got these..." He wriggled his arms. "Wrapped around me?"
"I'm sure you'll find a way.' Mabel said, sharing his same knowing expression. "I'm going to go get some ice for your eye."
Unfortunately, this meant going downstairs, where Stan and Soos just so happened to be. When she stood at the top of the stairs, Mabel could hear the two of them talking under the din of the television. Great, just her luck. Mabel did her best to seem small and insignificant as she crept towards the kitchen
Stan was in the den, watching television. He was still dressed in the same weird red-and-black clothing that everyone else had been wearing all day. But not only that, there were black markings on his face. Whatever was going on was starting to have a worse effect on everyone's mind.
Stan was clearly focused on the elaborate car comercials, detailing whatever. Either way this time of the year was the only chance they'd ever get such long and high quality comercials in Gravity Falls. They were all sponsered by big football teams and the sports channel.
With everyone snowed in and stir crazy, it was no surprise that they were watching TV all day. Stan had half a bowl of chips in front of him, his fingers mid-way to picking up another chip. He was so focused that he did not even seem to notice her as she passed by. At least, not until he said;
"There's left over pizza in the fridge if you want some."
Mabel didn't reply, not wanting to prolong the conversation any more than strictly necessary. She crept into the kitchen and started to riffle through the freezer, looking for an ice pack. All she found was a slab of meat. But it would have to do. She grabbed it and ran past her Grunkle as quickly as possible.
Returning to their bedroom, Mabel handed her brother the meat.
"Thanks sibling! I was getting hungry!"
He started to eagerly chew on the piece of raw meat like he was a dog, fighting to tear hunks off of it.
"It's for your eye."
"Oh." He mumbled, spitting out the pieces he had gotten in his mouth. "Well that explains why it's so cold. I'M HUNGRY!"
Mabel winced at the volume of his voice. She went back downstairs to grab something safe for Dipper to eat. She dashed across Stan's sight, trying to reach the kitchen before anything happened. But she was not quick enough. Mabel yelped as Stan grabbed her around the waist in a death grip. She tried to wrench herself out of his grasp, but nothing worked to get him to let go of her.
"Kid, stop it." Stan gruffly commanded.
"DIPPER!" Dipper help me!"
Stan sighed, sitting back down on his recliner with her on his lap. The elderly man seemed to collapse in upon himself, his posture showing allthe defeat that he was truly feeling. Mabel felt a little bad for her great-uncle. At least until he decided to repeat what she had been hearing for weeks now.
"Dipper is dead."
"No! You're lying!"
"Mabel... The truth is... I know what it's like to loose a twi-"
"Did someone call my name?"
Dipper happily floated into the room, steak in hand. Seeing Stan and Mabel there, he tilted his head.
"Awww, having a heart-to-heart? Without me?"
"You're not Dipper!" Stan yelled at him, getting to his feet.
Dipper crept closer to Stan.
"Why?"
"I-I know y-you're not him!" Stan snarled, stepping away from the monster.
"But Stan-"
"Shut up you abomination!"
"Stan! How could you ever call me that? Me? Dipper? Don't you care about me?"
The elderly man started to cry, still backing away from the evil thing in Dipper's body. This was not right. This was all so wrong.
"Hmmm... Well maybe you just want to forget about me. Failure number two. Just another person that you couldn't save from themselves!"
"S-shut up!"
"Well you didn't save him and you didn't save Dipper either!"
"P-please!"
"I wonder what he would say, knowing that it's your fault that his grandson was killed because of you? Huh? What would Sta-"
Just then, Dipper chose to walk into the room. He paused mid-step as he took in the sight. Mabel was in the corner, nursing a stab of meat in her hands. In the meantime, Atan was backed up in a corner, and... He was crying! And... There was himself... Only his shirt was inside out... And his eyes were yellow. And... Where did Bill find a copy of his body to use?! What the heck?!
"Uh, guys, what's going on?"
Immediately, everyone in the room turned to face the real Dipper. Stan glared at him, while Mabel squealed in excitement and hugged her real brother. Bill seemed to be the most confused out of all of them.
"I thought I told you that you were dead to me!" Stan snapped. "You're dead to all of us!"
"He's not dead to me!" Mabel argued.
"But you're a girl! It's ok if you don't like watching football!"
"I do like watching football! It just so happens that I support the Green Bay Packers while you like the-
"TRAVESTY! Every member of the Pines family, and by extension, the town has to like my team or else!"
Bill was finally getting a grasp on the conversation that had just played out before him. He clutched his Dipper-shaped head in horror.
"Are you telling me..."
"Yes." Stan gravely nodded. "You're in the body of a Packers fan."
"AAAAARAAAAAAGHHH! STOP DROP AND ROLL!"
True to his words, Bill stopped, dropped, and rolled out of his traitorous body. Sure it was the wrong procedure, but it worked well enough. Besides, how could anyone think straight when they were in the body of someone who actually liked the Packers?! Back in his typical triangle self, the demon took on a sickly yellow hue, his entire body drooping.
As he exited his fake-Dipper body, the construct started to decay. Pieces of flesh fell off of it and the form started to scream until it turned into nothing more than ashes. Everyone stared at it in varying levels of horror.
"Well, I'm scarred for life." Dipper chirped.
"I-I feel so used." Bill said, his voice on the verge of breaking.
"It's just football!" Dipper snapped in exasperation. "And you're a dream-demon! Don't you have better things to care about?"
"It's not just football!" The demon said with a scandalized gasp. "It's a Pines family tradition! Name one member of the Pines family that likes other teams!"
"Mabel-"
"Doesn't count. She's a woman- girl- child... Thing."
"Uncle Vlad likes the Green Bay Packers." Dipper pointed out.
Stan snapped his fingers at that.
"And look at what happened to him and his creepy ghost research! I knew it was a good thing we disowned him from the family! Doesn't count!"
"He got me into the paranormal." Dipper said with a frown.
"It doesn't matter. He can't count!"
"I still can't belive I..." The demon turned on Mabel. "And you knew! You knew all along that I..."
"You were pretending to be my brother!" She snapped at him. "I just played along! As if I'm born yesterday or something and can't tell which Dipper is which!"
"You were the one muttering about how he wasn't dead! You sounded like you were in denial and I thought I would be psychologically tormenting your family through looking like him! I thought it would be fun!"
"Dude, that is messed up." Soos chimed in.
"When did you even get here?!"
Soos laughed at the question.
"Well, it's a funny story actually. You see, I was in the washroom while halftime comercials were streaming. And when I came back here everyone was all screaming and yelling at each other. So I picked up the popcorn and started to-"
Everyone ignored what Soos was saying after the first few words. Bill went back to being angry (And perhaps a little embarrassed if he would ever admit it to himself.) At Mabel for tricking him! This was not how it was supposed to work! Why if it wasn't for these meddling kids and their pig, none of this would have- Wait a minute, wrong universe... Weird. Any ways, this was not right! And because of that he needed a long explination on how everything turned against him by pure chance.
"But you were in a graveyard!"
"Because Dipper and I have been meeting there since Stan kicked him out." Mabel sighed.
"Dipper?" Stan wondered. "Never heard of him. Dumb name too. What are you doing in my house stranger?"
"Getting my stuff. Because someone thought it would be funny to leave me behind in the cold while she went off with an imposter!"
"So where have you been staying Dipper?" Mabel hastily asked.
"Old Man McGucket's. And that's only because he doesn't own a working TV."
Bill decided to draw the attention back to himself. If he was going to take the long commute out of the dreamscape than people better darn appreciate his magnificent existence through eternal worship and non-creepy cults!
"I can't belive you'd let me stay in the body of a... A Packers fan! Me! Bill! Your grand-er bestest dream-demon friend! Bill!"
"Bill, I've met you like twice." Dipper deadpanned. "And you're not even family! Why do you care about which football team I like?!"
Both he and Stan laughed nervously at this.
"Funny story-" The simultaneously said.
"Let me guess, you accidently got married or something when you were younger?" Dipper asked, rolling his eyes.
"That works too." Stan quickly muttered. "Now get out of my house. The both of you."
"Fine!" Bill sniffed. "I was going to bathe in bleach to get rid of the Packers fan stench any ways!"
"That's normal Dipper smell." Mabel pointed out.
"Same thing."
Epilogue...
"And in a surprise turnaround, The Green Bay Packers have won the Superbowl!"
Stan gaped at the TV, unable to belive his eyes. Dipper jumped up and cheered, picking up his sleeping sister and Waddles all in one scoop.
"Huh? What's going on?" Mabel asked in confusion.
"The Packers won the Superbowl!" Dipper cheered.
"So Bill never took over your body and pretended to be you even though it was obvious? And you're not dead to Stan?" Mabel asked. "It was all just a dream?"
"Oh no. All happened." Dipper said. "You just got bored of watching football and fell asleep. "Which means you missed the Packers' sweet victory!"
"You're still dead to me." Stan declared.
Dipper and Mabel laughed at Stan's insistence. Mabel more so than Dipper. These past few days had been really weird for her. The entire town was super obsessed with football, and they all just became mindless zombies who wanted to watch TV. And then Bill thought it would be funny to act like her brother, even though his acting skills sucked. Really, this was exceptionally weird.
"No really. You're dead to me. Get out."
Fin