That cliffhanger was too evil...so I though I'd release chapter 1 of this new one quickly.
Pacifica collapsed onto the concrete. Dipper kneeled down and held her.
"No, no no. Why did you do that? It should've been me!" Dipper said. She was still breathing, but she was losing a lot of blood. The bullet had hit her arm, Dipper didn't think it hit any vital organs, but he couldn't be sure.
Then, a thought dawned on Dipper. He realized that, in his panic to help Pacifica, he completely forgot that there was a man standing near him with a gun. He took a glance at him, and saw that the man had dropped the gun on the ground, and was crying. Dipper wasn't sure what that was about, but he dismissed it, and called 9-1-1. He described the situation and gave the person their location. While the ambulance was coming, Dipper removed his shirt, and wrapped it around Pacifica's arm, creating a bandage to stop the bleeding.
"Why, Pacifica, why?" Dipper sobbed. He turned to the man who was also crying.
"You! What did you do this for? Why did you shoot my girlfriend? Why did you shoot the only girl I've ever loved? The only girl that's ever loved me?" Dipper asked with tears in his eyes.
"I..I'm sorry. I was put up to this by my boss. If I could go back, I would've taken the bullet. But I let that idiot control me and turn me into a monster." the man sobbed.
"Who? Who is your boss? Who would want to kill us?" Dipper screamed.
"I..I can't tell you that. My family could be in danger." the man said.
"So, you're just going to let your boss roam free? What's to stop him from doing this again?" Dipper yelled.
"I..I can't do this anymore." the man said, picking up the gun and pointing it at his own head.
"No! Please, tell me who put you up to this! I have to find the monster who would do something like this to her. To me. To you." Dipper said desperately.
"I..I'm sorry. I've made a mistake I cannot fix." The man said, pressing the trigger. Dipper saw the man collapse to the ground. Somehow, he actually felt bad for the man that had just shot his girlfriend. Maybe because he had seemed genuinely remorseful, and Dipper believed that he really was forced to do this by his boss.
Soon, the ambulance arrived, which transported Pacifica into the ambulance. "Where did the shooter go?" the doctors asked. Dipper pointed to the dead body of the unknown man.
"How did that happen? Did you kill him?" the doctor asked.
"No. Suicide." Dipper said.
Dipper wasn't allowed to ride in the ambulance with Pacifica because he was not officially off of the suspect list. He was taken to the police station and questioned. Dipper described the situation, everything from the footsteps to the man committing suicide. All he really thought about was Pacifica, and how much he wanted to be by her side, but he knew he had to abide by the legal standards and testify.
"And he didn't say anything else about his boss?" the policeman asked when Dipper was done his story.
"No." Dipper said.
"All right. Our investigators have concluded that you were not the perpetrator. You may go." the officer said.
"Thank you. And please notify me of any leads." Dipper said, before rushing out of the station. He grabbed the first taxi he could get, took it straight to the hospital, and rushed to the room where he had been told Pacifica was.
He saw a female doctor standing outside Room 618: Pacifica's room.
"Is she going to be okay?" Dipper asked.
"She's in stable condition. She'll survive, but we think she might lose an arm." the doctor said.
Dipper breathed a sigh of relief. Losing a limb wasn't good, but Dipper had been preparing for much worse.
"Can I go in?" Dipper asked.
"In a bit. Our staff is still working." the doctor said.
Dipper went back to the waiting room, and began calling his close friends, explaining the situation. Mabel and Soos said they were coming as soon as possible. Then, Dipper decided to call Mr. Northwest. He had a right to know about his daughter.
"Hello?" The gruff voice of Mr. Northwest said.
"Hello, Mr. Northwest. It's Dipper. Listen, something horrible has happened. Pacifica has been...shot. They think she'll be okay, but she might lose an arm." Dipper said.
Mr. Northwest was silent for a moment. "Someone shot my daughter? I am going to sue them for everything they have..." he said furiously.
"No, that's the thing. The person shot themselves after they shot her." Dipper said.
"What? Who was this person?" Mr. Northwest said angrily.
"I don't know. He was tall, and he tried to shoot me. But Pacifica...jumped in front of me." Dipper said.
"She...took a bullet for you?" Mr. Northwest said, baffled.
"Yeah. I tried telling her to stay back, but she jumped at the last second." Dipper said.
"I..I have some business to attend to. Good-bye." Mr. Northwest said.
"Wait! Are you going to..come and see your daughter?" Dipper asked.
"In time." Mr. Northwest said, before hanging up the phone.
Dipper put his phone away and buried his hands in his face. He had such a mix of emotions: The horror at what had happened to Pacifica, the happiness that Pacifica was going to live, the amazement and guilt that Pacifica had jumped in front of him, and the anger he felt for whoever had set that man up to do such a thing.
The doctor entered the waiting room.
"Mr. Pines? You can come in now." the doctor said.