A/N: So, I was just going to write a short lil fic for transcendence au on tumblr, (blog is transcendence-au) but things kinda snowballed and it ended up pretty long… I'm not going to say much about it, except that it takes place in California not too long after the Transcendence.
(As always if anyone wants any content warnings here tell me please)
Mabel walked as swiftly as her legs could carry her. She tried not to draw too much attention to the situation forming around her. Just get home. She thought over and over, repeating it like a mantra. Dipper followed her, floating just behind. A group of kids from Mabel's school had followed her as she left. At first things had seemed normal, but Dipper could sense the hostility sparking from the group. He wished more than anything that he had a corporeal body.
"What do they want?" Mabel questioned, softly. She kneaded the shoulder strap of her messenger bag. She could hold her own in a fight against one or two, maybe three, but the small mob behind her was formidable.
"Nothing good," Dipper replied. He shot a glare at the group of kids. He recognized a few of them as people who had antagonized Mabel for talking to him in the past. A tall boy with white blond hair who had a thing for roughing up freshmen seemed to be leading the pack. The boy stared pointedly at Mabel's back. He had some vendetta against the supernatural, and had somehow gotten it into his head that Mabel was something inhuman. Dipper thought the boy was vile. "Just keep going. Stay where it's populated."
"Uh, that might be a little difficult." Mabel said after a moment. She stared ahead at a pair of kids with the same malice in their eyes. Her only options were to duck into an ally on her left, or chance darting across the busy road. She wished they were in Gravity Falls. As much as Mabel loved her parents, and California, it just wasn't the same. The Gravity Falls locals all knew who Dipper was. They didn't ask questions, or look at her with pity or fear. They accepted her. Even though she had grown up here, Gravity Falls was home.
Dipper swore under his breath as Mabel darted into the ally. It was a dead end. Mabel considered busting out some parkour to grab onto a fire escape ladder hanging a few feet above her, but there was no time. The two groups converged in the ally, and blocked any chance of escape. The blond boy- Mabel thought his name was Darren- stepped forward.
"Well well," He began, running a hand through his hair. His tone was casual enough, but his eyes burned with hatred. Dipper could feel it rolling off him in waves. Dipper placed himself between Darren and his sister. Dipper knew that the boy could walk right through him, but he felt better this way. "If it isn't Mabel Pines." He sneered at her name. Mabel could almost feel Dippers anger over her own fear.
"What do you want?" Mabel asked, mustering all her confidence into the question. She pushed back her shoulders, and tried not to look scared. She covertly scanned the ally for anything useful, and spied a mouldy two-by-four propped up against the wall about a foot away from her. She could plausibly use that as a weapon if it came to that.
"You know, Mabel, I've had a question sitting in the back of my mind for a while now." Darren continued, ignoring her question. Mabel bit back a sharp laugh. Was he really going to do the villainous monologue thing? "I'm certain my peers have been wondering the same thing." He moved closer to her. It didn't escape Mabel's attention that he said his peers instead of their peers. "Do you know what that question is?"
"No." Mabel said, steeling herself. She looked Darren in the eyes, not willing to falter for a second. Dipper stood slightly to one side, so she could keep focused on Darren. He balled his fists, praying that he could interact with the human plane just long enough to get rid of these creeps. There was no use, though. He couldn't touch anything but Mabel. He thought that if things got really bad, he could fly her away. That would have to be a last resort, they couldn't afford having this mob's suspicions confirmed.
"What are you?" Darren asked, leaning in toward Mabel. His eyes narrowed with intensity. She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you a witch, or a shapeshifter, or are you just possessed?"
"I'm going with the bonus answer, 'D', none of the above." Mabel answered, her voice dripping with disdain. Dipper would have been amused by her snark if the situation wasn't so intense. "Are we done here?" Mabel continued, fighting to keep her voice even. She uncrossed her arms, and made to exit the ally, only for Darren to block her path. He grabbed Mabel's arm, and forcefully turned her to face him again.
"No, we're not done." He hissed. Yellow flames danced off Dipper's eyes. Every inch of his body screamed for him to do something. What do I do?, he wanted to scream. All Bill's power, and he couldn't figure out a thing.
"Let go of me," Mabel shrieked, trying desperately to wrench her arm from Darren's grasp. "What's the matter with you?" She kicked him hard in the shin, and he loosened his grip long enough for her to break free. Darren's face twisted with rage, and he shoved Mabel hard. She crashed into the cement wall behind her. Her head slammed into the wall with a sound like a whip crack, and tears pricked in her eyes. The rest of the group began murmuring uneasily amongst themselves. Dipper raced to Mabel's side.
"Mabel, are you alright?" Dipper cried. As he looked at her, all his worry began to melt into rage. Something deep inside him screamed for revenge.
"'M okay," Mabel groaned, pulling herself away from the wall. She rubbed the back of her head gingerly, wincing at the pain it caused. When she pulled her hand away, streaks of blood marred her fingertips. Dipper stared down at her hand. As he took in the blood, something in his mind shattered. Rage and pain coursed through him so forcefully he stumbled back a step. "Dip?"
The agonized wail that escaped Dipper's mouth sunk into Mabel's very being. The sound rang through her, and from the looks on the faces around her, through the physical plane as well. Looking at him, Mabel found herself unable to move. Dipper flickered in and out of reality, his eyes screwed tightly shut. He clutched either side of his head, and Mabel found the strength to reach out to him. A pulse of energy flared out from him, and knocked her back a step.
"Dipper," Mabel cried. She had to strain her eyes to see him. The best way she could think to put it was that he looked like he was glitching. "What's going on? Are you okay?" Panic slipped into her voice. What if something's really wrong with him? She thought. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
"Wh-what the fuck?!" One of Mabels attackers yelled, pulling Mabel from her thoughts. Another tried to dart out of the ally only to hit an invisible force that knocked her backwards. She landed on her butt with a shriek.
Mabel ignored them, her eyes glued to her brother. Patches of black spread across his body like a shell. As she watched, Mabel thought that black wasn't a strong enough word. In truth, it was an absence of colour. Mabel felt as if she were watching miniature black holes envelope her twin. A pair of bat-like wings solidified at his back, and bright, golden lines in a brick wall pattern spread across the void.
Dipper's eyes snapped open, and he dropped his arms to his sides. His eyes were yellow, and burned as intensely as the sun. The yellow flames that sometimes blossomed from Dipper's eyes streamed from them constantly. Dipper turned his attention to Darren, and wrapped a hand around the other boy's throat. Dipper lifted him from the ground, and forced Darren to meet his searing stare. "How dare you." Dipper growled, as Darren thrashed and clawed at Dippers hand. Dipper tightened his grip. "You are nothing."
Darren made several loud choking noises. "You're pathetic," Dipper said. "You're not even worth killing. I can see your entire life sprawled out in front of me. Your death will be as pedestrian as the rest of your worthless existence." Dipper laughed without humor, and threw Darren to the ground at his feet. Mabel watched in horror, as Darren crumpled to the ground retching and gasping for air. "Never speak to my sister again."
"Dipper..." Mabel said, stepping toward him. Dipper didn't hear her. He stepped over Darren's body. He turned his focus to the rest of the group, and raised his hands to either side. The group made panicked noises as they were lifted into the air. "Dipper!" Mabel yelled. She lurched toward him, and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked down at her, anger radiating from every inch of him. She forced herself to meet his eyes. "Stop." She said softly.
A confused expression passed over Dippers features as he took in Mabel's face. She's sad. He thought, bluntly. His mind screamed for retribution, but his heart ached. Why is she sad?
"Please," Mabel begged. She wrapped her arms around Dippers torso, and pressed her face into his chest. "Just stop this."
She's sad because of me. Dipper realized. Regrets flooded into Dipper's mind all at once. He dropped his arms, and the group of kids fell to the ground. They scrambled to their feet and tore out of the ally as fast as they could. Darren found his way to his feet as well, and decided that the smart thing to do was follow suit. Dipper pulled away from Mabel, and the void that encompassed him began to fade. It flowed upwards like flame before vanishing completely. He closed his eyes, and fell to his knees. When he opened them again, tears began to cascade down his cheeks.
"I'm so sorry," Dipper breathed, his voice shaking. He closed his eyes, and shook his head. "I didn't mean to..." Mabel pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm sorry." He repeated, his voice breaking. They stayed like this for a minute. Dipper sobbing, and apologizing over and over. Mabel shushing him, and rubbing his back like their mom used to do when they were kids. Finally, Mabel pulled away and stood up. She extended her hand to her brother.
"Let's go home."