Disclaimer: I do not own the cartoon Gravity Falls or any individual thing in it.

Author's Note: Hello! I'm new here, and this is my first published fic, I guess. I'd like it if you'd tell me what you think of it, or what I did wrong... Hope you enjoy!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dearly Departed

When Stan and the others entered through the unlocked door, they expected a warm welcoming. Stan was actually preparing for a tackle hug from the twins, especially Mabel. They had hoped for a pleasant surprise at the very least, not... this.

Once Stan had opened the door, they saw the warm, colorful Christmas lights, numerous gifts under the tree, cookies on the table, and

The twin's bodies sprawled out on the floor.

"Not them, apparently, right?" Soos joked, thinking they were asleep. Stan walked over to their side. "Yeesh, how long were you two waiting for us?" Stan asked, kicking Dipper's arms.

Wendy knelt down beside Mabel. She patted Mabel's cheek. "Hey-" she winced and quickly drew her hand back. Her voice was filled with panic. "Mr. Pines, she's colder than ice!"

Stan turned Dipper over, so he'd be lying on his back, and grabbed his wrist. Wendy was right. They weren't freezing. They were as cold as death.

Soos gulped. "Uh, you dudes aren't gonna blame me, right? I swear they were dead before I made that joke."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Pacifica, dear, are you sure you want to go to this low class Christmas Party? We could always celebrate in a... less cheap abode."

"For the last time, mother, I'm going to Mabel's house. If you want to spend your money somewhere else, fine by me. I didn't want you there anyway."

The older woman raised an eyebrow at her daughter. Finally, she sighed. "Fine by me."

Well, now that's done, thought Pacifica. She leaned back into the seat and closed her eyes.

She couldn't understand why she was so fond of Mabel. Their friendship had bloomed over the summers. She had other, richer friends. Some of them really were friends, not just some squeamish attention whores who wanted her money. Yet here she was, headed for a simple house. Not to another country, a tourist spot, or a millionaire Yule ball.

She was headed for Mabel and Dipper's party.

And it was absolutely her choice. She was sixteen, and she was putting her foot down. If Mabel had taught her anything, it would be being true to whatever she wanted, no matter how wierd people thought it was.

Pacifica tucked her blond hair behind her ear then put on her earphones. It was still a long way to the Pines residence. Maybe she could doze off for a few minutes.

And she did.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Run run run run run run run run run

He'll catch you!

Pacifica ran through the monochrome woods, daring not to look back.

Run run run run run run run run run

'He'll catch me!' she thought. She hadn't the slightest idea who.

Fasterfasterfasterfaster

Fire. Blue, blazing hot fire erupted from in front of her.

She stumbled backwards, almost colliding with the flame. It formed a circle around her, blocking any safe way out. Her body ached from running, and her head ached from fear.

This isn't a nightmare.

Runrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrunrun

You're trapped. He's here. There's no exit.

RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN

"I can't!" Pacifica sobbed.

Above her, the sky split into one giant eye. The flames rose and engulfed the land.

black. black. black. yellow?

"What is going on here?" she demanded in a voice higher than her normal.

The world burned, leaving a void of darkness. The eye glowed yellow. It made a sudden flash that forced Pacifica to shut her eyes.

When she opened them, she was in a humble, deserted street.

Everything was coloured black and white except for her, and a yellow eye of providence dressed like Abraham Lincoln.

Pacifica remembered hearing a quote that went something like "Happiness is seen through the eyes, not the smile". It was overly accurate for the yellow thing. It couldn't smile, for it had no mouth, but it had an aura of extreme joy and insanity. It talked to her in a car retail salesman voice.

"Admit it. I had a flawless entrance."

Pacifica made a face of mild disgust. "What are you?" she asked impolitely. The triangle bowed, holding its hat down so that the top faced Pacifica. Out of the blue, the hat made a deafening 'BANG!' that shook the earth. "Whoa," the triangle chuckled.

Sparks shot from the opening of the hat and zoomed to the skies behind it. They made more explosion sounds, then spelled the name 'BILL' in flashy blue letters.

"I'm a Dream Demon! So stubbornly badass, I even disobey Lucifer!"

The sparks from the top hat flew towards Pacifica like darts. She ducked with a short shriek. The Demon cackled. "Don't tell Lucifer, though. I'm sure you'll meet him after death."

The teen gasped . This guy was gonna murder her, she thought. He was insane!

"What do you want?" she shouted, half in anger, half in terror.

"Relax, kid! I want a bargain," Bill said while circling her once. Pacifica blinked. "Excuse me?"

Bill reclined into the air. "A demon gets bored. Wanna strike a deal? I can give you anything you want." "For a price," Pacifica added darkly. She was new to all this Demon biz, but she wasn't stupid!

"Calm your tralala's Pacifica. The price is that I give you what you want."

She jumped when she heard her name from him. Its rather she was being stalked, or this being was all knowing. Either way, it was still impressive. More impressive than a human anyway. Maybe it could get her anything she wanted for free. Though she wasn't going to rush into an agreement, this was still too big an offer to turn down.

"I'll consider it then, Bill." she confirmed slowly. The Demon laughed when she said his name. He easily floated through the air to 'sit' beside her. "You know, I have a last name too, if you're more comfortable using it," He pointed out.

"What is it?" Pacifica asked unamused.

"The same last name of Pinetree- well, I guess you know him as Dipper."

Her eyes widened. The Demon knew Dipper. And if it knew Dipper, it knew Mabel as well.

She bottled in her violent reactions. "So you're Bill Pines?" she asked.

"No." He looked like he was grinning. "Bill Cipher."

Pacifica tossed him a look of confusion. "Anyway," Bill went on, "Let's make the deal."

"Cipher, right? Sorry, but i'll take up your offer another time," she declined.

"Haha, seriously? It's now or never, kid! Let me repeat it: anything you want. If I know one thing about a Northwest, it's that they always know what they desire."

Pacifica was tempted. An all powerful demon in the service of the Northwest's did seem to appeal to her. And he was right. She did know what she wanted, right from the start, but...

It's a trap, Mabel's voice said in her mind. There's always a trick!

I know, Pacifica thought back, but she just couldn't seem to spot it. Her thoughts then lingered to the other twin, Dipper. She would never admit he was smarter than her, but she usually thought of him at times like these. What would Dipper do? Could he guess the trick? No. It didn't matter if he could see the trick or not. He would flat out refuse to a demon. So would Mabel. Pacifica sighed. Then she had to do the same.

"No, I will not make a deal with you, demon. I don't care what kind of filth you have to offer. My family is far richer than Abraham Lincoln, and far more powerful than the likes of you. I am not falling for you tricks, Cipher, in case you thought I was stupid."

She looked him straight in the eye defiantly. For a moment, she thought he would snap. Maybe drop his benign and fun demeanor to destroy her. Well, she was wrong.

"Hahaha! I'm glad the Pines twins got to you! Otherwise, this would've been completely boring."

She crossed her arms. "What do you mean?" Bill waved his arm around them.

"Do you know where we are, Paci?" he asked in a singsong voice. Pacifica looked around then froze. They were in a black and white, petrified version of the street where the Pines twins lived. This couldn't mean anything even remotely better than being dream-abducted by a demon.

"No?" Bill mockingly said. "How's about I give you a hint? Walk straight up this street."

For some reason, Pacifica didn't hesitate. She went forwards, stopping when she was right infront of the doorstep. Bill squinted mischievously, his eye was a perfect half moon shape.

"Don't be shy, come right in!" he coaxed her. She didn't need to be told twice. Pacifica ran straight in, calling their names. "Mabel! Dipper! It's me! Pacifica! Where are you?"

She searched the whole house for them, not even stopping to wonder why she cared so much about the twins. Everything seemed to be in perfect condition, but where on earth could they be?

She collapsed onto her knees beside the Christmas Tree. Her silence was interrupted by a voice. One insane, infuriating voice.

Bill Cipher.

"Oh Christmas tree..."

What did he do to them? What did he do?

"Oh Christmas tree..."

WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FRIENDS?!

Bill stopped singing and slowly turned to her, like he could read her mind. If he had a mouth, she was certain he'd be giving her a shit-eating grin. His voice was dripping with malice when he said,

"Do you really want to know?"

Everything around her faded into an inky black. Then pure, blinding white.

Pacifica stood in a hospital emergency room. The door was open, and she could hear the muffled voice of someone on a phone. "Stanford Pines?" she whispered to herself.

Her attention was brought back to the room. There were doctors fussing over two beds, or rather, the patients on them. A tear rolled down her face when got to see Mabel's lifeless body.

"My offer of a deal would look really fresh right now."

Pacifica turned to face the triangle. "What did you do?" she asked threateningly.

"Is that a no, then?"

Pacifica winced. Before she could retort, she heard a doctor behind her scream commands. It looked like they were doing their best to revive the twins, but they hadn't a single idea how.

The demon looked amused, and she hated every second of it. She was defeated.

"Fine! Please, bring her back! I want Mabel back!" she begged, thinking of all the summers they had together. Mabel was her best friend.

"Haha, well to straighten things up, in exchange for having souls back in those bodies, let me ask for a tiny favour in return," Bill declared. "Do not tell Mabel of our meeting."

The demon held out a flaming hand to Pacifica. She begrudgingly took it.

"Deal."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pacifica woke up in her car like before, but it was parked right in front of the city hospital.

"Mother?" she called out. Who had called the change of destination?

No one answered. Everyone in the car was asleep. Pacifica could hear her parents' quiet snores. She soundlessly opened her door and crept out the car.

She looked down to see her shadow replaced by the silhoette of a certain demon. It lingered for a while, then changed back to her normal shadow. Her caution morphed into anger; she broke into a sprint. She entered the hospital and somehow found the twins' room. Sneaking past their uncle, she went in. As soon as she was at Mabel's bedside, the girl started breathing rapidly, like she had awoken from a nightmare.

"Mabel!" Pacifica cried. She had never felt more relieved.