Shreds of deep maroon wool were strewn across the uneven dirt path. Their color evoked the sinister yet horribly familiar thought of the slowly draining precious life from the girl that the fabric had clothed moments before. High above the full moon shone; the pale celestial body illuminating the scene that to any passerby would seem like a crime too cruel to fall upon the unsuspecting child who lay sprawled on her back, face unsettlingly calm considering the obvious damage to her left forearm and any other possible injuries.
The boy gazed at the horror before him, hoping that this wasn't really happening and it was all some sort of terrible nightmare instead. Things couldn't have gone so wrong so quickly – it just didn't work like that.
Deciding the moonlight wasn't enough to see the macabre scene by, the distraught child fumbled with a flashlight using his shaking hands. Directing the beam from his torch onto his twin, the saucers of the boy's eyes widened in fear.
He couldn't see the familiar rising and falling of her chest.
"No… no, no, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen. If only she didn't convince me… if only I…" the child frantically spoke to himself aloud, voice shaking. His cries trailed off into the darkness as clouds swallowed the moon, casting him in shadow that clung to his being like a cloak of misery, the pall suffocating the boy with the dreadful truth of the incident – he was alone.
Choking down the pain of his predicament best he could, the child attempted to stay composed. But immediately he knew the action was in vain, as not a second more passed before he threw his head back and let out an animalistic cry that pierced the blackness.
"Mabel!"
For the umpteenth time that night, Mabel flopped into yet another position on her bed, making as big a deal out of the action as her small body would let her. Maybe if the old cot would creak then her distress would be taken note of by her oblivious brother. With near hopelessness, the tween let out an exaggerated sigh.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Dipper noticed his sister's torment. Without taking his umber eyes off the yellowed and stained pages before him, the younger twin dryly asked what was preventing her rest.
Eagerly Mabel flopped yet again, this time coming to face her brother, eyes settling on an all too familiar arrangement of his. The boy was sitting upright in his cot as he leaned his back against a pillow, knees bent and trusty journal positioned in his lap. The tome was propped against his legs as he studied its contents intently. Exasperated, the slightly elder of the two lodged her complaint.
"You read through that stupid brick every single night, Dip Dop! How do you expect me to sleep with the light on all the time? And how many hours of sleep do you get anyway? No wonder you have those dumb bags under your eyes so much! I don't want to get them too! I mean, have you seen this face?" Mabel asked; pushing herself to a sitting position and pointing to her head as she donned a wide yet partially forced smile. With the action her braces caught the light from the camping lamp on the nearby desk. "Its potential for fabulousness drains even further every night! At this rate I'm going to get all wrinkly before I'm even a teen! Do you have any idea how unattractive wrinkles are?" the girl continued to drone on.
"Uh-huh," Dipper replied uninterested, eyes still locked on the journal. He obviously wasn't paying attention, only further irritating his twin. Mabel scowled – her brother of course not noticing her change in expression, he being far too absorbed in the literature before him.
Distraught over Dipper's neglect, the girl turned to Waddles who sat at the end of her bed. The pig lifted its head when his master directed her gaze at him. Smiling, Mabel got an idea. She stood from the cot, scooping up her trusty companion and walking to her sibling's side, he unaware of the impending plans of his sister.
Mabel lifted her friend and dropped the pig square in Dipper's lap. The swine landed atop the old volume with a muffled fwump, causing the boy to let out an "eep!" in surprise.
Mabel couldn't help but snort with laughter at her brother's high-pitched squeal, the sound of which raised her spirits instantly and rid the girl of the crankiness that plagued her just a short while ago.
"Not funny, Mabel," Dipper stated bluntly after composing himself, proceeding to carefully peel the ball of pork off the journal. His twin instinctively reached out to grab Waddles, taking the pig from her brother and setting him upon the ground before directing her attention back to Dipper.
"If you don't go to sleep, I'll keep finding ways to bug yooooooou!" Mabel drew out the last word as she leaned towards her brother and proceeded to repetitively poke him in the shoulder, making a different annoying noise with every prod of her finger. "Boop! Beep! Bop!"
Dipper sighed, knowing that once she began, there was nothing in the universe that could stop his twin from bothering him.
"I'll let you sleep in darkness in a bit. First let me just finish –" Dipper wasn't able to complete the sentence, as Mabel let out a gasp of shock. She shoved her face next to her twin's and stared at the open page of the journal that her sibling was reading a moment ago.
"Is that a vampire?" Mabel's eyes lit up, gaze glued to the pen and ink drawing decorating the yellowed page that the volume was open to.
Dipper directed his attention back to the book, inspecting the illustration in question. The creature shown resembled a near-naked thin man that was sparsely covered in fur and positioned on all fours, yet the arms were long enough that the being's rear end wasn't pointing skyward. Instead, the spine was parallel with the ground, back legs of the beast reminiscent of a canine – furry paws included. The front limbs, however, were far more humanoid. Other than being excessively long for arms, they looked just the same as a person's. At the end of each spindly appendage was a hand with opposable thumbs, yet the nails on all the digits weren't natural for a human – they came to a sharp tapered end and looked deadly. They weren't the only built in weapons the beast had. Two short fangs protruded from the elongated skull, hanging the slightest bit over the creature's bottom lip. Lastly, its ears were positioned where a human's would be, but instead of rounded edges, they came to a point.
How his sister mistook this for a blood-sucking bat person escaped him. However, now that Dipper questioned her idea, he realized that maybe it was the fangs.
"No, it's a werewolf," the younger twin explained simply.
"Well the author should learn to draw werewolves better!" Mabel huffed. She pulled back from her sibling and stood upright once again, hands propped on her hips in annoyance.
"Hey, don't insult the author!" an offended Dipper snapped defensively. "He – or she – was probably doing their best. Besides, I doubt werewolves look like media portrays them. I mean, the author's actually seen this stuff. Hollywood just goes over the top to scare people."
The elder twin harrumphed and crossed her arms over her chest, not arguing further with her brother.
"Whatever. I'll let you get some rest now," Dipper let out a sigh, shutting the book.
"You're finally going to bed?!" mock disbelief radiated from Mabel as she placed her palms on her cheeks, jaw hanging open.
"No, I'm going head up to the roof and keep looking through the journal. That way I can do my reading without bugging you or being caught by Stan when he makes his snack rounds downstairs."
Without warning, Mabel let out a squee of joy at her brother's statement.
"But it's a full moon!" the girl pointed out excitedly as she bounded over to the window, standing next to the desk beneath the unfortunately triangular shaped pane of glass, her finger directed at the pale saucer in the sky.
"Yes, aaaaaand…?"
"Psh, vampires come out during the full moon, dummy!" Mabel stated as if it were common knowledge. "If you're going outside, we might as well make it an adventure!"
"Mabel, werewolves are the ones known to come out during the full moon," her brother replied unfazed.
"All the more reason to go adventuring! You've been stuffing your face in that book for hours on end, researching things that go bump in the night when you can actually be out there looking for the stuff the author themselves came across!"
Dipper looked to the journal that rested in his lap, small smile spreading across his face at the idea his twin brought up. Mabel did have a point, especially with it being the full moon and all. To see a live lycanthrope instead of just reading about one… the opportunity was too good to pass up. However, he wasn't exactly the most eager for Mabel to come along if she'd only fret about vampires the whole way.
"Also, so what?" his twin continued. "Who's to say vampires don't come out during the full moon as well? I mean, haven't you seen the movies? The full moon is when all the spoooooooooky stuff happens!" she wiggled her fingers in the air with the extended syllable.
Dipper was brought back to reality with his sister's words, knowing she'd still insist on dragging vampires into this.
"How often do any of our adventures turn out like the movies?" he questioned cynically, heaving a sigh as his hopes of a vampire-less expedition were dashed by Mabel's enthusiasm.
His twin tapped her chin for a moment, gaze absentmindedly staring at one of the mold spots on the support beams in the ceiling. "Hmm… I can proudly say a grand total of none."
"Then what makes you think this will be any different?" Dipper threw his arms out to the sides, exasperated. Mabel's reasoning confounded him. Now that she planted the seed in his mind, he was looking forward to a werewolf hunt. Dipper just hoped it wouldn't turn strictly into a vampire stake out. He could recall more than one instance where his twin had somehow managed to twist the intended adventure into yet another scouting mission for her favorite paranormal creature.
"Because tonight I'm going to wear my lucky vampire bait sweater!" Mabel grinned matter-of-factly, setting her hands on her hips and puffing her chest out. Dipper stared at his sibling for a few moments. Deep down he knew she would say something absurd like that.
"…This is just an excuse for you to go hunting for a vampire boyfriend, isn't it?"
Mabel nodded enthusiastically, giant grin swallowing much of her face.
Knowing he couldn't dissuade his sister from her antics, Dipper let his head fall, admitting defeat. With Mabel all wound up like this, the boy was positive he wouldn't get any more reading done tonight anyway.
"Fine. Just get changed quickly so we can do this."
"That's my Bro Bro!" Mabel beamed, thrusting out her left hand and giving him the thumbs up before quickly rushing over to her pile of sweaters and frantically digging through them.
As his sister tossed various wool garments left and right in her excited search, Dipper set the journal on the nearby desk, getting out of bed and retrieving his vest from the floor. After slipping it on over his orange shirt, the boy directed his attention back to the counter where the book rested. He picked up a flashlight that sat next to the camping lamp, which served as the main source of light in the twins' attic bedroom.
They wouldn't be out for long – just enough to satisfy Mabel's curiosity, really, and perhaps find a lycanthrope. Secretly, Dipper was excited though. He wondered why he hadn't thought of a nighttime adventure before, and was actually glad Mabel brought up the idea. Admittedly, he was a bit nervous however. Who knows what sort of stuff would be out during the full moon? Even though she made little sense at times, Mabel's logic from her earlier statement was sound…
Dipper paused for a few seconds, wondering what else he should bring. It was at that moment his twin zoomed out of the room and dashed down the hall towards the bathroom, carrying a bundle of fabric in her arms. He ignored his sister's action and focused again on planning the supplies for their journey.
Maybe he should bring a walkie-talkie? Leave one next to Stan's bedside just in case anything went horribly wrong and the twins had to call for back-up. Then again, the man probably wouldn't hear them radio in. It wasn't like he slept with his hearing aids…
Dipper continued to ponder supplies for a bit, the sound of the toilet flushing down the hall broke him from his thoughts and let the boy know his sister was almost ready. It also relieved him of worrying about one less thing when on the upcoming adventure. Now there wouldn't be the chance of Mabel needing to use the restroom when outdoors. Last time she did so the girl had gotten a poison ivy rash on her behind.
Grabbing the journal from the desk, Dipper shoved it into his vest just as his twin proudly entered the room once again. Mabel held her purple nightgown balled in one fist as she stood just inside the doorway, displaying the hand-knitted garment she had donned along with a complimenting skirt.
"Who's got the best vampire attraction sweater? Uh-huh. That's right. Me," the girl announced, jabbing her thumb at her chest. Dipper looked at his twin's attire. The wool was a deep maroon color, and the symbol stitched into the weave was of a black bat.
"Yup. No one can compete with the mighty Mabel…" Dipper almost sighed. It seemed she'd already failed to remember that first and foremost, they were doing this to look for werewolves, not vampires.
"Mighty Mabel!" his sister gasped. "I'm going to have to start using that!"
"Mabel, do you really need a sweater for every occasion? I mean, sure, they're all nice and unique, but…" Dipper drifted, ignoring his twin's statement and looking around the room. He'd been too distracted by thinking over what to bring and his sister's fashion show of sorts that he hadn't noticed until now the mess of pullovers strewn across their room from her earlier frenzied search. Multiple sweaters were cast all over the floor and beds. One was even draped atop Waddles – though the pig seemed to care less about the makeshift blanket covering half of his face.
"Dipper, Dipper, Dipper…" Mabel shook her head as she spoke. "You just can't appreciate genius, can you? I'm ahead of my time – Soos even said so!"
"And Soos is a trusty source for this… why?" Dipper asked, raising his brow.
He was almost beginning to regret agreeing to all this. Though his doubts on the matter were dashed when his sister immediately rushed towards the nearby bookcase, plucking a disposable camera off the shelf as she shouted the object's namesake and held it above her head for a moment before stuffing it into the large single pocket that crossed the stomach of her sweater. Maybe doing this and bringing her along was a good idea after all. The boy would have forgotten the important monster hunting tool if it weren't for his sister. What would be the point of the journey anyway if they didn't get pictures?
Mabel continued to ignore the previous annoyed remark of her twin as she spun on her heel, facing the door and beginning to march towards it. "Onward to adventure and vampires!"
The unpredictability of his sister never ceased to amaze Dipper. Without a word he flicked on the torch he held and turned off the camping lamp, silently following his slightly older sibling out of their room.
Mabel barely managed to contain her excitement until they had made it outside of the Mystery Shack. As soon as Dipper closed the door behind them, his sister let out a high-pitched squee, hands flapping excitedly near her face.
"Vampires!" she squeaked joyously.
…Aaaaand she's already completely and utterly forgotten about the werewolves… Dipper thought to himself with an inward sigh.
His twin began excitedly skipping around the porch as if she were a wound up toy just waiting to be set down and run loose. Dipper made slower progress, stepping off the raised wooden surface just as Mabel bounded up to the totem poll, staring at it in wonder.
"Do you think vampires like to perch on top here?" the girl asked her brother, not taking her eyes off the structure as she pointed to it.
Dipper looked up at the intricately carved wooden sculpture, light from the full moon illuminating it sinisterly. He didn't expect it to appear so… evil at night. The boy just barely suppressed a shudder. With the night being as it was – some clouds slowly coming in from the west, but otherwise pleasant enough – who knows what could be hidden behind each tree, watching them…
"Bro Bro, do you want to go back and get a sweater?" Mabel suggested, drawing her attention to her sibling and showing concern for her twin the first time this night. Her consideration for him proved that Mabel really did want to do this. Dipper couldn't disappoint his sister – even as annoying as she could be. Maybe if the two of them had this adventure, he could get her to agree that she wouldn't pester him in the future about his late night readings.
"No… I'm fine," Dipper muttered. Now that they began, he was starting to feel uneasy. The boy was conflicted between heading out on this journey and staying home, actually going to sleep like Mabel insisted earlier. Something… didn't feel right out here.
Upon hearing her brother's assurance, Mabel brightened up once more. She turned her gaze back to the totem poll just in time to see the shadow of a bat zoom past in the darkness, silhouette of the winged mammal appearing in front of the moon for a moment before vanishing into the shadows.
"Vampire!" Mabel screeched. As if there wasn't a moment to lose, she began to speed off into the woods, the moonlight filtering between the needles and branches of the pines and guiding her through the night.
"Mabel, wait!" Dipper shouted after her. Of course his sister would bolt away the moment she was sure her brother was fine and ready to begin the hunt. The boy instantly became terrified for his sibling's safety. What if she tripped over a root in her frenzy, skinning her knee on a rock? How about being kidnapped by gnomes – again? Or perhaps she would come across a panther…
Worry consuming him, Dipper dashed after his twin, using the light from his torch to guide the way along the dirt path that cut through the woods. Although the moon provided plenty of glow to see where he was going, the boy couldn't seem to shake the feeling that there might be something out here, waiting for a moment to strike at unsuspecting prey. Besides, by carrying the flashlight, maybe Mabel would possibly see him and the two could rendezvous.
Before long the child's scrawny legs began to burn, his lungs heaving. He paused next to a tree, leaning his back up against the rough bark to catch his breath. Dipper studied his surroundings, towering pines the only thing in sight. Somehow he'd managed to run off the main path and deep into a thicket before stopping. The evergreen needles above him provided a near solid canopy, moonlight sparse if at all visible.
Casting the light of his torch around him, Dipper attempted to find the direction he came from, and that of where his sister had disappeared to. Now that he was inspecting his environment, the boy noticed the familiar woods looked completely different than they did during the day. With that thought, a cold and terrible realization struck him.
Dipper was lost.
"M-mabel?" he asked timidly, voice shaking from the combination of worry and his still oxygen-deprived lungs. "Mabel!" Dipper called a slight bit louder after gulping down some air, hoping his twin could hear his cries but praying that nothing else would pick up on the distressed call of the boy. Fear gripped him like the shadows surrounding the child. He swung the flashlight about, casting the glow of the bulb on each of the nearby trees, longing to see his twin pop her head out from behind the thick trunk of one of the natural structures. After performing a complete 360-degree turn, Dipper's spirits fell even further, anxiety clenching tighter.
No signs of his sister.
Deciding that standing in place wouldn't help his search, the boy randomly chose a direction, taking a deep breath before slowly and cautiously setting off and casting his light towards every great column of wood that he passed. By now he could swear he heard his heart beating in the almost unnatural silence of the night. At this point Dipper could care less about finding any supernatural creature and only had the desire to reunite with his sister, quickly returning to the Mystery Shack and getting some long overdue rest. This adventure was a stupid idea – he should have known.
As he continued to pan the torch, the beam came across not a wooden trunk, but a figure that stood upright. For a moment the child was frightened – what sort of animal had he just inevitably disturbed? It took him a second or so to process that what was before him was no animal, but rather his sister. Mood lifting with the sight, Dipper stepped over a small bush and onto a worn dirt path. Mabel simply looked upward, moonlight streaming through the now sparser branches of the pines. She drew her gaze from the sky and met her twin's sightline as if nothing had even happened.
Upon seeing her well, relief flooded Dipper. The joy was short-lived, however.
"Why did you run off like that?!" he yelled out of anger and fear, the emotions quickly grabbing hold of him after realizing she was safe and sound.
"But Bro Bro, didn't you see it? That bat was the disguised form of a real live vampire!" Mabel threw her right arm skyward, clueless to her brother's concern as she pointed off to where the younger twin assumed the chiroptera vanished. "And now I lost it…" her spirits fell, as did her limb.
Mabel's obliviousness to the danger in which she put herself in pushed Dipper over the edge.
"Ugh! Can't this be about something other than your stupid vampire obsession for once!?" he snapped.
The girl stared at her brother, shock obvious on her face. She was hurt at his words for a moment, but almost immediately rebutted the accusation. "Maybe if you'd get your nose out of that dusty old book for two seconds then I'd possibly consider doing something with you that you enjoy!"
"Oh? So this is my fault? I'm not the one who has to go and shove all my weird obsessions in people's faces! At least I keep to myself!"
"That's exactly the problem! You keep to yourself all the time! How are we ever supposed to do things together – just the two of us – if you never want to?! And when we finally have some fun adventure with one another like this, this happens!" Mabel threw up her arms, referring to the argument that broke out between the twins.
"You were the one who ran off! And why? Because you just had to turn it into a vampire hunt!"
"Yeah? Well maybe I wouldn't be so preoccupied looking for a vampire boyfriend if I already had one!"
Dipper had it. Ever since he'd discovered the strange journal hidden in the woods, his one goal this summer was uncover the mysteries of Gravity Falls. His sibling on the other hand needed to go and make everything all about herself. Maybe he didn't need Mabel. He could do things on his own. Who cared about his sister if she didn't care for him?
"Stupid lover of the undead!" he snapped.
"Dumb-dumb book face!" she spat back at him.
Overcome with anger, Dipper's rational side wasn't in control any longer. He spun around, putting his back to his sister and facing down the path the way she had come. He didn't want Mabel to follow him right now. Deep down he knew it was beyond stupid to abandon his twin at this very moment – especially since he'd just reunited with her – but currently his rage prevented any logical thought.
Dipper stomped off, putting distance between himself and his sibling. Who cared what Mabel did? She could go find a dumb blood-sucking boyfriend. It's not like it mattered to him…
The child fumed over the predicament for a couple of minutes or so, his mind buzzing as he made his way along the path. His concentration was broken, however, when he heard the unmistakable frightened and pained wail of his sister. Dipper's anger immediately vanished; the previous argument between the two vaporizing in his mind as the sibling's concern for his twin instinctively took hold. Without hesitation the boy sprinted off in the direction of the cry, noodle arms pumping at his sides as he rushed down the dirt path, light of the torch in his hand frantically jumping about with each swing of the limb that held the tool.
Skidding to a halt, Dipper stopped before a familiar figure that lay on the ground, a deep midnight shadow hovering over the form. The child was panting, paralyzed with fear at the sight before him. What was positioned in the middle of the footpath looked nothing like any creature seen in the many wildlife documentaries that he had witnessed during his twelve years of life. Instead, the being appeared to be more like a swath of pure night – shape warping and twisting unpredictably. A portion of the near liquid beast elongated, lifting itself to Dipper's eye level. The boy felt his heart race at the sight, but he wasn't about to back down from a fight when his sister was in danger.
Doing the only thing that could come to his muddled mind at the moment, Dipper drew back his arm that held the flashlight, using the noodley limb to throw the torch with all the might his scrawny body could summon. The object flew through the air, column of brightness coming from one end frantically flashing a yellowed glow on anything the beam crossed as it spun through the night.
The flashlight bounced off the creature as if it were a trampoline, causing the beast to elicit a cross between a bark and a terrifying cackle before the otherworldly darkness scurried off the path, disappearing up into the foliage of the nearby trees. For the briefest moment Dipper's eyes stayed on the branch where it had vanished, but his gaze quickly shot back to the body of his twin.
Feeling his legs give out from beneath him both from fear and exhaustion, Dipper collapsed onto his knees in front of the flashlight that had rolled back towards him after its collision with the monster. In the moonlight his saw the unnaturally serene form of Mabel, who lie on her back, shreds of maroon sweater scattered on the ground about her. The sleeve over her left forearm was completely gone, but the color of the cloth remained. Mabel's arm was injured, blood flowing from it and onto the uneven brown beneath her form.
Without taking his sight off his twin, Dipper reached for the flashlight on the ground, fumbling around for a moment before grasping the tool. He lifted the device and with quivering hands, directed the beam at his sister's form.
Mabel wasn't moving.
Mumbling worries and regrets out of pure terror, the boy began to reprimand himself. This was all his fault. If only he went to bed when Mabel told him to then none of this would be happening…
As if his gloomy thoughts weren't obscuring his heart enough, clouds rolled through the sky, swallowing the whiteness of the moon above.
"Mabel!" Dipper's face looked skyward as he cried almost incoherently at the top of his lungs, knowing no one could hear him now that he was alone. Taking a ragged breath, the boy directed his attention to his twin, gazing at her unmoving form as he blubbered words. "Somebody… Anybody… help!" he shouted with dejection, eyes not leaving the girl's body. Twin rivulets of salty water trickled down his cheeks and the child crawled towards his sister. "M-mabel…" he stuttered, reaching forward with a shaking hand. Dipper was almost afraid to touch her, as if the simple contact of his would cause his twin's body to crumble.
"Ma-mabel…" his voice faded once more, hand hovering just above her form. Dipper paused for a moment. Maybe – hopefully – she was just unconscious. Quickly wiping away the tears that obscured his vision, the child summoned all his knowledge on first aid, bringing his hand near to his sister's nose and slightly open mouth. He cupped the palm nearby to the openings in her face, but not close enough to completely block the flow of air.
He felt it – she was definitely breathing, albeit shallowly. That's why he hadn't seen the rise and fall of her chest from where he sat a few feet away a short bit ago. Relief flooded Dipper and he continued his inspection with confidence. He shone the beam of light over his sister's form, glad to see that all limbs were in their ordinary positions and not twisted haphazardly. With the flashlight in one fist, Dipper used his free hand to gently pull up the sleeve of her right arm, relieved that there weren't any wounds that had penetrated the wool and her skin. After making sure Mabel's head, torso, and legs were fine; Dipper fearfully directed his attention at her left forearm, scared at what he might see.
The boy knew it should have been the first thing he inspected, but he was too terrified to gaze over the injury in depth until now. Luckily though, the wound was far less severe than he feared. It seemed most of the beating had fallen upon the arm of Mabel's thick sweater, which the creature had torn to shreds in its attempt to reach her flesh. The wound wasn't anywhere near as bad as Dipper thought it would be. In fact, there were only two mildly bleeding parallel cuts crossing the arm – no deep, life-threatening gashes. In his horror, Dipper had mistaken the various scraps of the maroon wool as streams of Mabel's blood. It looked like if anything, his twin had just fainted from fright, not hypovolemic shock or something worse. At least he hoped. He didn't know what the beast had done to her.
Dipper lifted his gaze from his sister, looking around. There had to be something he could do. The two of them couldn't stay out here all night – especially if that monster were to return. Briefly the boy contemplated rushing back to the Mystery Shack to get Stan, but no, he wouldn't leave Mabel alone again– especially when she was unconscious. Dipper continued to let his sight travel through the woods around him, using the flashlight as he searched.
There – refuge.
Relief flooded him at the sight of the familiar log cabin belonging to the Corduroy family. It was close enough that he hoped he could drag Mabel with him to the building. Dipper hated to disturb the lumberjacks at such an odd hour, but it's not like he had another choice.
Taking a deep breath, the child prepared himself for the fairly short but arduous trek ahead. He turned off his flashlight, stuffing it into his vest and looking over the form before him, thinking of the best way to transport his sister. A few moments later he tenderly lifted the damaged left forearm of the unconscious girl, resting it across her abdomen before gently slipping one arm beneath her legs and another under her neck.
On the count of three, the boy heaved the body of his twin in his grasp. Immediately he felt strained, but he wouldn't give up. Dipper forced himself to take a shaking step – then another – before falling to his knees and letting Mabel's body come to rest on the ground again. This was far harder than he thought it would be.
Dipper noticed he was panting; beads of sweat already forming on his forehead from the exertion. He wouldn't give up though. This was his sister, his own twin. If their roles were reversed, Dipper knew that Mabel wouldn't hesitate to carry him to the nearest shelter and make sure he was safe and well. That's just what siblings did.
The boy was beyond thankful there was enough light from the moon illuminating the path from where he stood to the cabin; the clouds having passed the celestial body in the sky and once more bathing the woods with a soft glow. Dipper hated to think what it'd be like if the moon was new and there was no clear trail in sight.
After what seemed like hours of half-dragging, half-carrying the girl, he made it to the corner of the house closest to where the incident had taken place. Luckily for him, Wendy's bedroom was there. Dipper pounded on the window with what little energy he could summon. Almost instantly a light from inside blinded him for a brief second or so until his eyes adjusted to it, the pane of glass built into the wall sliding aside and clearly showing the silhouette of a messy red-haired lumberjill.
"Dipper?!" Wendy gasped in shock, surprisingly awake for this hour. "Dude, what happened…" her voice trailed off in confusion as she looked at the ragged boy that stood doubled over, hands on knees. "I woke up a bit ago because I thought I heard some animals fighting or something. Wait – was that you?"
"Wendy… Mabel… argument… monster attack. Sister hurt," Dipper barely managed to spit out between labored breaths.
The teen didn't need any further information, emerald eyes widening as they settled on the form of a limp girl in the dirt nearby. In her loose flannel pants and matching nightshirt, Wendy hopped from the aperture of her room effortlessly, reaching over and lifting the girl with equal ease to that of her window exit. The teen silently crawled back inside as quickly as she could, careful to prevent any part of Mabel from hitting the window's edge.
Now that he'd caught his breath, Dipper clumsily followed, falling ungracefully onto the floor of the cabin. He immediately pushed himself up, hoping Wendy didn't see the action. Luckily the redhead was too preoccupied with setting Mabel's unconscious form on the bed. Without drawing her gaze from the girl – specifically her injury – the lumberjill spoke.
"Dude, you're like, going to have a lot of explaining to do to Stan…" she drifted, finally releasing Mabel from her sight and casting her eyes towards Dipper. "But me first. Spill the beans – what happened out there?"
The boy swallowed nervously. He didn't know how to tell her everything that took place in the woods. Plus, this was Wendy. Dipper suppressed the urge to face-palm, knowing he couldn't get in a logical word without making a fool of himself when around her.
Wendy ignored his awkward silence, standing from the bedside at which she knelt and walking towards the door. Before the boy could ask where she was heading off to, the teen spoke.
"First aid kit."
Dipper was left in the subsequent silence, staring at the door the redhead just exited. From where he knelt next to the bed, he boy directed his attention to his twin that lie on the quilted comforter. After a moment he pulled the journal from his vest, gripping the volume with anger. He aggressively tossed it onto the soft surface, proceeding to cross his arms over the fluffy blanket before him and bury his face against them.
"I'm such an idiot," he mumbled into the comforter, voice muffled. Just as the words left his mouth, Wendy entered the room again, carrying a white metal box with a red cross painted on it. Dipper lifted his head to see the teen silently beginning the routine of cleaning Mabel's wounds, all energy focused on healing her friend. The boy sighed, knowing he owed Wendy an explanation for all this. He hoped he wouldn't say or do something embarrassing in the process.
"We… got in a fight. I mean, we decided to go out on this nighttime monster hunt thing, some stuff happened, and then we got in a fight. I left Mabel behind and next thing I knew I heard her scream. I ran back to find her being attacked by this… thing…." Dipper paused, suddenly remembering that he still had no idea what it was or what it had done to his sister. He quickly grabbed the journal off the bed, frantically flipping through the pages.
Satisfied with her bandaging job, Wendy turned to Dipper to see him intently focused on his search for a particular entry. The redhead closed the first aid kit and waited patiently for her friend to continue speaking.
The boy made his way through the journal until he came across a page that depicted a creature not all that unlike the one that had attacked Mabel. Next to that illustration was yet another that was near identical to the werewolf image the twins had studied immediately prior to the fiasco that they had set out on. Dipper began reading the entry aloud.
"Hellhound. Along with the vampire and werewolf, the hellhound is one of the most universally common supernatural creatures. A wide variety of subspecies reside across the globe, each unique to the niche of their local environment. I can confirm that the hellhounds of Gravity Falls take on the appearance of a canine at times, but are more commonly like a living section of the deepest darkness known to man. I assume this otherworldly shape is to save on energy, as a consistent corporeal appearance costs more calories. Another possibility regarding this change in form may be due to the lunar cycle, expanded on below. When in canine shape, they can be mistaken for werewolves. See the werewolf entry for comparison."
Dipper stopped, contemplating flipping back to the page on werewolves, but decided against it. He continued to read.
"Weaknesses: Being hit with objects, whether thrown or thrusted."
Another pause. He really lucked out on that one.
"Dangers: Avoid at all costs the bite or scratch of this beast when the moon is –" Dipper's eyes widened as he read the sentence, fear for his sister gripping his heart tighter with each word. He almost tore the page from the journal in his hurried frenzy to turn it and finish the foreboding message. "—new."
The boy let out a sigh of relief that his sister's life wasn't in danger, then immediately felt angry.
"What idiot writes sentences like that!?" Dipper's head snapped up to look at the unconscious form of his twin as he near shouted out of nowhere, causing Wendy to start. The child immediately regretted his outburst, catching the teen's jerk of surprise from the corner of his eye. Attempting to hide his embarrassment, Dipper looked back at the book and picked up where he left off.
"When bitten or scratched during the new moon, the victim will die within an hour. However, as the moon waxes, so too does the potency of the beast's attack. When the moon is full is the time a hellhound's bite or scratch is least effective, simply causing loss of consciousness. The victim will wake within a few hours at the most. It should be noted that they might remain severely groggy for a day or so after the attack. No other products of a hellhound assault have been observed," Dipper finished combing over the entry, satisfied with the information. Mabel's life wasn't in danger, and that was enough for him.
With a sigh he closed the tome as it rested on the comforter, pushing himself away from the bedside. Dipper leaned up against the cabin wall beneath the window, drawing his knees to his chest and setting his arms atop them.
Wendy stood from where she knelt next to her bed, walking over to the window and closing it before she sat by the side of her friend. A short silence followed before it was broken by the teen.
"Dude, it's totally normal to fight with siblings. I do it all the time with mine," Wendy reassured him. Dipper's head perked up at the redhead's statement.
"Wait – speaking of your brothers, did we wake them?" he asked, obvious concern on the boy's face.
"Nah, other than me, my whole family sleeps like logs – no pun intended," the lumberjill knocked on the wooden floor with her words.
The line caused Dipper to smile for a moment. His joy quickly faded however. "Still, I shouldn't have done what I did. It's just… we're twins but we're so different. There are times where I almost feel like I can't relate to Mabel… She's so outgoing and I'm not. I feel bad for snapping at her, but she always gets her way."
Wendy looked at her friend, carefully thinking on what to tell him. After a pause, she began to speak.
"Mabel's personality is definitely opposite your own, but that's not at all a bad thing. I mean, it's because of the differences between you two that makes each of you so special and awesome. I dunno if I'd be able to stand it if both of you were the same. It creeps me the heck out when there are those twins that say and do everything exactly alike. It's like some sort of clone. Totally not right."
"Yeah, it's disturbing, haha…" Dipper let out a quiet nervous laugh, thankful that Wendy never found out about the incident involving Stan's copier. The boy scratched his leg just below the knee, hoping to hide the awkwardness of his statement. Only now did he register that dirt clung to his limb. Dipper was so worried about Mabel that he hadn't noticed how filthy he'd gotten when out on the adventure. It's not like he cared about being a mess though. He just hoped he hadn't tracked a lot of grime into Wendy's room.
"Besides, I know this might sound kinda crazy, but arguments are what strengthen your sibling bond. You and Mabel will realize that even though you two have all these differences, it's when you work together that you do best. As for the paranormal stuff you just so happened to have a nasty run-in with, who cares? I mean, this is Gravity freaking Falls. Have you seen the crap that happens around here? The first day you two arrived, there were gnomes! Gnomes that wanted to marry your sister! And what did you two do? Together you scared 'em off. Oh, and how about that lake monster you told me about? The one that ended up being a mechanical creature built by that crazy hillbilly dude? Seriously, Dipper."
The boy looked up at Wendy when she said his name.
"Don't worry about it man. Mabel's going to forgive you and you two will be best buds again in no time. And hey, this is only something you can learn from. It's not like someone with your smarts is going to let the exact same thing happen twice."
She playfully punched him in the shoulder and Dipper gently rubbed where her fist made contact, stretching his legs out before him and looking at his feet.
"Thanks Wendy. And, uh, sorry about showing up at your place without warning," Dipper stammered awkwardly, eyes still not making contact with hers.
The lumberjill thought she saw the boy's head swaying the slightest. "Psh, like I'd deny to help when you pop up at my window at dark o'clock with some sort of monster story. Seriously, the adventures you two have are better than –"
Wendy was cut off as Dipper's limp form fell over sideways onto her lap. She was shocked for a moment, but quickly relaxed. After all the kid went through tonight, of course he'd be wiped. The redhead thought it was best not to wake him, so she simply let Dipper be. As she watched his calm slumber, the lumberjill soon felt exhaustion overcoming her own form. Before long, she too was consumed by sleep.
Mabel woke up feeling like she had the day after the trip to the haunted convenience store where she ate bleleventeen packets of Smile Dip.
"Ugh…" the girl groaned, limbs feeling heavy and all movement agonizingly slow. She attempted to roll onto her side, hoping that a new position would be more comfortable and maybe darker. Dipper still had that stupid camping lamp on.
After taking what felt like ages to get into a new position, the girl's groggy brain realized that her posters of Sev'ral Timez weren't on the wall. Mabel paused, racking her fuddled mind as to why that could be. Unable to figure out a reason, she pushed herself to a sitting position, looking towards where Dipper's cot would be in order to ask what he did with her memorabilia.
It was at that moment the child realized she wasn't in the familiar attic room of her Grunkle's Shack.
Mabel's memories of the night's earlier outing came to mind when her gaze settled on the journal that was lying next to her on the bed.
"Oh…" she said to no one, voice fading. The girl felt a stinging sensation on her left arm, and raised the appendage to see her sweater had been torn up to the elbow, white bandages wrapped around the forearm. A small snort of a snore coming from the floor at the foot of the bed drew her attention away from the wound.
Oddly propping herself halfway on her side and her stomach, the girl looked over to see her brother and Wendy asleep on the ground. The teen was leaning against the wall, while Dipper was mostly in her lap. Mabel was happy at the sight, wanting to admire the two resting for a few moments more, but the position she was in wasn't exactly the most comfortable. Something solid was pressed against her stomach. It took Mabel a moment to remember that the hard object she was half lying on was the disposable camera she brought along.
Clumsily, the tween reached into the pocket of her sweater, retrieving the device. With a fumbling hand, she brought it to her face, aiming the lens at her subjects.
"And that's one for the scrapbook," the girl slurred to herself, smile on her face as she awkwardly pressed the shutter, snapping a photo of the two 'sleeping sweethearts' as she mentally nicknamed them.
Dipper stirred the slightest the moment after the photo was taken, eyes blinking open. The boy was a bit tired still, but soon became wide-awake when he realized he wasn't curled up in his own bed, but rather the lap of his crush. Cautiously as not to wake her, he pulled away from Wendy, feeling the heat rise in his face and embarrassment taking hold of him. He wondered how he could've let himself fall asleep on her lap, and how she hadn't bothered to move him. However, his twin interrupted his frantic thoughts.
"Heya Dip-Dop-a-doodle," Mabel drawled to her brother, flopping around her arm that held the camera as if she were waving at him.
"Mabel!" an excited Dipper said quietly, making sure not to wake Wendy. The boy crawled over to his sister, still whispering. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I fell off Aoshima and into a big pond of Gummy Koalas, but the Gummy Koalas weren't actually Gummy Koalas. It's like they were somethin' else. The Gummy Koalas lied, Dipper. They liiiiiiiiiied."
Dipper didn't bother to ask what any of that meant, knowing the answer he got wouldn't make sense anyway. He paused for a moment, finding the right words to tell Mabel. He wanted to fix what happened earlier as soon as possible.
"Hey, um, sorry about the argument. I shouldn't have left you alone…" the boy confessed, feeling remorseful for what he'd done.
"It's cool Bro Bro. I dunno why I ran off like that. I mean, that bat could've been a really ugly vampire. I should only go after the hot ones. Like in the movies."
"And how are our adventures anything like the movies?" Dipper questioned, raising a brow not out of annoyance, but rather amusement.
"Mrph!" the girl made an incomprehensible noise, burying her face in the comforter she now laid stomach first on. Mabel lifted her head a moment later, suddenly a touch more with it than she was when she first awoke. "Well, at least my sweater worked, right?"
Dipper couldn't help but smile at his sister's attempt to lighten the mood.
"Hey, I'm pretty sure that was a werewolf, not a vampire that got you," he playfully rebutted; now fully aware that the creature he saw wasn't a lycanthrope. Mabel didn't need to know that though – at least now. An awkward silence followed his statement, his twin now staring off into space as she zoned out, mouth half open.
"Mabel…?" Dipper asked softly, waving his hand in front of his sister's face. The girl sucked back a stream of drool that had begun to dribble over the edge of her lower lip. It took his twin a few seconds for her eyes to focus on Dipper once more. As soon as he was sure Mabel was conscious enough to process his next sentence, the boy spoke. "So… does that mean no more wanting a vampire boyfriend?"
"If only there's no more reading late at night," Mabel rebutted with a lopsided and sleepy grin, which her brother returned a moment later.
"Deal," the two said in unison.
Dipper yawned, not realizing just how tired he still was until his jaw widened. Lifting his right hand and balling it into a fist, he held it towards Mabel as he addressed her. "Thanks sis."
"Thanks Bro Bro," she responded in kind. Not a moment after the two did a lethargic sibling handshake consisting of a fist bump and a selection of other gestures, the Mystery Twins flopped face first onto the comforter, instantly asleep.
All was well once more.
A/N: Yus! My horridly long case of writer's block is finally gone! x3
When it comes to fanfiction, I suppose this is my first foray into the Gravity Falls fandom, and it most definitely won't be the last. ;) Though I do have to say I'm unsure how well I portrayed twins or the topic of siblings as a whole. I grew up as an introverted only child, so I have no idea if I was able to capture sibling disputes and relationships accurately or not. ^^;
Anyway, I can't give enough thanks to the wonderful and talented PhoenixCaptain for not only being my fantabulous beta-reader on this fic, but also letting me use some absolutely gorgeous fanart of the twins as cover art. Check out PhoenixCaptain's fics and art, because it's all so amazing! x3