The Pines twins were notorious for creating wild and, at times, dangerous games. Being away from home, their friends, their parents, and any technology they had grown used to, allowed for more time to be reckless kids. And so, here they were, climbing all over the large pine trees like squirrels on crack.
"AAAHHH!" Mabel screamed like a war hero jumping from branch to branch, keeping just out of Dipper's reach. "Mabel, slow down!" Dipper yelled at his twin, who had become a little more cautious the higher they went. Mabel, however, was a force to be reckoned with, never showing fear, only a worrying sense of adrenaline.
"No way, Bro! THERE'S NO STOPPING THIS MACHINE!" She yelled back at him, making a large leap for a branch on another tree. She caught the branch with her tiny hands, and pulled herself up. She held up her hands, admiring the calluses forming on her fingers and palms. "Haha, cool! Splinters!" She marveled at the shards of wood stuck in her fingers. Back at home, a splinter would cause a panic in her, but after spending so much time in the woods, she was taught to not worry about such small things.
She stood up, leaning against the trunk of the tree, and wiggled her fingers next to her head to mock her brother who was still left behind her on the other tree. "Heh…" Dipper smirked to himself, braced himself on the branch he was standing on and leapt.
The panic set into him after he left the branch he was perched on. He had slipped. He felt the wind brush past his hair as he began to plummet. "DIPPER!" Mabel had shouted after him. Time slowed for her, the two seconds it took him to hit the ground felt like two years. A loud thump and a crack left him motionless.
Mabel could only stare; stare as the reality of the situation finally sank within her. "DIPPER!" She yelled again, and began to crawl down the tree as fast as she could. Their play had warped her reality, she never realized how high up they actually were. Limbs scrambling, she ultimately jumped the remaining several feet to the ground and hurt her legs in the process. Ignoring what could be a twisted ankle, she dashed to her brother's side.
"Dipper! Dipper, can you hear me? Oh, God, Dipper!" She held him up in her arms, his body limp and eyes wide. "Dipper, Dipper, no… No! DIPPER!" Her vision blurred, and she blinked to clear her eyes, tears falling heavily onto her brother's face.
She shook his limp body, hat falling off and landing on the grass, now stained with blood. "Dipper, Dipper no… You gotta get up, Dipper…" Her wails had died down to mere babbles now, her voice thick and tears falling from her dimpled cheeks.
And then, a bright blast of blue light interrupted her sobs. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes, turning her away from the rays. "Well, well, well!" A voice exclaimed when the light disappeared. Looking up, Mabel felt herself fill with even more dread.
"Bill…" She mumbled, her grip on her brother tightening, pulling his dead body closer to her. Bill floated down to her level, hovering in front of her. "Seems like someone's in quite the predicament!" He said, eye squinting in a smile, and he ruffled Dipper's hair. Mabel swatted his hand away.
"What do you want?" She demanded, bleary eyes glaring at Bill. "I felt something happen to Little Tree here, and I was right! Boy, oh, boy, amazing how one well-placed rock can completely change a human's life, huh?" He remarked gleefully, twirling his cane around. "Did… You do this? Mabel demanded, trying to control her shaky breathing.
"Well, that doesn't really matter right now, does it? Now, I'm going to offer you a-"
"No."
"Hey now, don't be so hasty! Hear me out!" Mabel scowled, looked down at Dipper's still dead, lifeless eyes and cradled his head in her arms more tenderly. She nodded reluctantly. "Swell choice! Well, not like you had much of a choice… But I digress! So listen, I'll bring 'ol Pine Tree back for ya!" Bill said rather happily.
"Wait, you can do that?! Then, please, bring him back, please!" Mabel begged before she could even process what these words would mean to her. It would mean making a deal. "Alright, Shooting Star, but you gotta do something for me, you got that?" Bill said, waving his finger in a warning-like manner.
"Yes, yes, I know already, I'll do anything, just… Bring him back, please… He's the only one I have." She hugged the body tightly, more fat tears rolling down her cheeks. "So then we have a deal?" Bill asked, holding his hand out, now engulfed in a blue flame.
Never thinking, she held her hand out and grasped the demon's, the flame traveling to her own hand, now sealing the deal. She would now be bound to whatever he wanted her to do. "Wise choice, girlie! I'm sure Pine Tree will be very alive and pleased!" Bill cackled out, and let go of Mabel's hand. With a mere wave of his hand, Dipper came back, gasping for breath, eyes blinking, and heart beating.
"Oh, my God, Dipper!" Mabel shouted in happiness, at the relief of knowing her brother was going to be alright. "Mabel, I-" Dipper began, but was quickly cut off with a snap of Bill's fingers, causing Dipper to be quickly put to sleep.
"Dipper! What did you do?!" Mabel demanded. "Yeesh, calm down. I put him to sleep, simple as that. Can't have him knowing about our little deal, can we?" Bill said, floating over to nudge Mabel's arm in a friendly way.
"What did you want anyway?" Mabel asked, and Bill's attitude changed from friendly to cold quickly. "I'm going to need you do go on some errands for me." He said curtly. Mabel looked at him, worried. "What kind of… Errands?" She inquired, looking him in the eye nervously. "I'll tell you when we're on the road. Now get up, we're leaving." He instructed her, floating away from her, from Dipper, leading into the woods.
"No! I can't just, leave Dipper! Not now." She struggled in hopes to gain some mercy in this deal, to hope that maybe he would allow her to say goodbye, possibly forge an explanation leaving, something. "We're leaving now."
"But I-"
" L, S. W." His voice warped, growing deep, his eye glowing red and black. Mabel took one last glance at her brother, brushing his hair out of his forehead. She hugged him tightly, and removed him off her lap, laying him down on the grass. She stood up, and faced Bill.
He stared back, turned, and floated into the forest. She knelt down, and picked up Dipper's hat. With another glance at her brother, she clutched his hat to her chest, and followed her debt into the woods.