Dipper sat on the floor, staring blankly at the Bill Cipher page, tracing the eye over and over again. The ground around him was covered in papers, documents in various colors and states, and he couldn't quite remember why but some were ripped and shredded. His hand had moved in the same way so many times that he was sure he would be able to draw an eye anywhere. Oval. Oval. Lines. Oval. Oval. Lines.

Though he couldn't judge the exact time, soon he had started tracing in other places too.

Oval. Oval. Lines. Oval. Oval. Lines.

A flash of gold. A deer head. An empty black hole.

Oval. Oval. Lines. Oval. Oval. Lines.

A face. An empty face.

Some sort of… Pink… Tube?

"Oval. Oval. Lines. Oval. Oval. Lines."

Though he couldn't judge the exact time, soon he had started speaking out loud.

A pink tube. A shredded, pink tube. Was it the tube that was shredded, or the stomach? Dipper wasn't sure.

A pink tube. A pink sweater. A gold star. A gold triangle.

Pink, and gold. Oval, oval, lines.

One by one… Eye by eye…

Tube by tube… Scream by scream…

Was red a shade of pink, or pink a shade of red? Dipper wasn't sure.

A bucket of red. Buckets and buckets of red. Deer head, or pig head? Arm, or leg? Hand, or foot?

An empty black hole. An empty face. An open mouth.

Open mouth, or no mouth?

The mouth was screaming. Making noise…

There is no noise in an empty hole. There is no noise in the mindscape.

The mindscape…

What was he doing again?

"DIPPER! DIPPER!"

Dipper gasped, a sensation remarkably like being doused in cold water coming over him. His eyes were shut tight and he had no idea why. He was having trouble getting his bearings and took a deep breath to try and collect himself. He noted faintly that he was shaking, before he realized that there were hands on his shoulders.

His eyes flew open, and he shrieked. Who was in front of him?

"Dipper? Dip?" He blinked. He blinked again. Recognition sparked in his mind.

"M- Mabel?" The girl in front of him- Mabel- breathed out loudly.

"Phew. For a sec there I thought you didn't recognize me." His thoughts were still sluggish and muddy, but he managed to look around him. He dropped a marker he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Wh- what happened in here?" Mabel followed his gaze and winced.

The floor was strewn with papers, most torn up and covered with a black marker of some sort. As Dipper leaned forward to see what it was, he noticed his arms and gasped. The papers on the floor, his arms, his legs, his hands, and any surface other than Mabel and his clothing, were covered in black sharpie eyes. Bill Cipher eyes.

"Who did this? Is this a prank? Did I space out and miss it?" Dipper looked up at Mabel, suddenly hysteric, and she frowned.

"Dipper… You did… you did it." Dipper shook his head, eyes wide in disbelief.

"No, I would remember, I would…" He slowly looked up at his sister, horrified.

Oval, oval, lines. Oval, oval, lines. "Oh my god, I did it."

"Of your own will? You sure it wasn't Bill?"

"Yeah- no. He couldn't manipulate me unless I made a deal with him." Dipper pressed his hands to his face. "Oh, god. I was studying him, trying to figure out how he was doing…"

"Doing what?" Mabel peered at him, and Dipper turned away, unable to look at her lest his will break. He stood up, his legs wobbly and feeling slightly numb.

"Nothing. Just something I've uh, been thinking of."

"Hmm." Mabel was obviously unconvinced. "Well, here's something to think about: you really need to get yourself, and this mess," She gestured to the wooden floor, "Cleaned up." Dipper rubbed the back of his neck.

"Umm… yeah. I'll go… do that. Out of sight of Grunkle Stan and Ford, heh."

"Good job, bro. Have confidence and get that sharpie off before it dries." Mabel patted on the back, and with a finality that suggested that he couldn't come back until he was fully washed, pushed him out the door.

As an afterthought, Mabel called out the door, "I'll get these papers thrown away!" A brief hand gesture over Dipper's shoulder showed that he understood, and Mabel turned away, hands on her hips.

"Alright." She murmured to herself, already bent over, "Let's get this out'a Dipper's sight."