In which Dipper has a weirder dream than usual, Mabel demonstrates her impressive seamstress skills, and Gideon's a real douche.


He was falling. That wasn't very surprising – his dreams always led to this. No matter how it began, he always managed to stumble or dive into a deep abyss. The air around him was dense, like he was sinking through black ink. For all he knew, he was. There were no boundaries; no end. The dream usually lasted for a few more minutes before he'd wake up. On occasion, he'd receive a nice scare from a sinister figure, or a gut-wrenching panic from witnessing something happen to his sister. Once in a blue moon, he'd actually die in the dream, though the realness of the experience would leave him questioning his reality when he finally came to.

This dream was slightly different from the norm. He supposed it was because of his upcoming birthday; perhaps his schizophrenic subconscious had arranged something special for the week.

He stared hard into the blackness caressing his face, nearly choking when it parted to reveal an almond-shaped eye. The iris was gold, its pupil dilated in the dark. It returned his gaze attentively, blinking lazily every few seconds. It was worth noting that he was still falling, the eye keeping pace with him, though its motion was discrete.

He involuntarily opened his mouth, uncertain of what he was going to say, when another eye popped up to his right. This one held a pink hue to it, and rather than simply watch him like the first, it glared daggers at him. Not a full three seconds passed before a third sprouted to his left, blue and apathetic in its observation of him.

All was silent as he continued to fall through the black under the gaze of three eyeballs with different intentions. About two minutes of this elapsed before smaller eyes began budding up all around him, dozens per second. They were all composed of the same colors as the three large ones. The eyes locked onto him, practically engulfing him in their stares.

He was suddenly aware of his sister's voice shouting his name urgently from far above. He tried to look up for her, to see if he could catch sight of where he'd fallen from, but all he could see were eyes. The voice was persistent, though, echoing around him and causing the eyes to wince at the increasing volume.

"Diiiiiiiipppper! Wake up, bro bro!"

Dipper cried out, flailing as he was ripped out of his dream. As his senses flooded him, he became aware of hands gripping his shoulders tightly. The glorious smell of pancakes wafted through the air, his mouth watering and stomach grumbling the same sentiment.

"Whoa! Easy there, Dip!" The hands steadied him, waiting patiently for him to relax. Dipper focused on calming down, inhaling slowly and trying to purge the dream from his mind. After a couple of minutes, he managed to sit up and slip the hands from his shoulders.

"I'm okay now," he assured, smiling softly up at his sister. "Thanks, Mabel."

The brunette's lips returned the expression, but her eyes were still searching. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Dipper bit his lip, eyes looking anywhere but at the honey orbs staring at him. It wasn't that he didn't feel like sharing; he'd told her about the falling dream that often woke him up, as well as many others. The problem with this one was that he just didn't know how to go about describing it.

Mabel caught his apprehension and backed away understandingly. She hopped off of the bed and gave her brother a bright grin. "Don't worry about it, Dip. Whatever it was can't bother you anymore. Now get up, your breakfast is getting cold!"

Mabel's hands slipped into Dipper's larger ones, and she easily hoisted him onto his feet. Something about her strength had to be supernatural!

As she skipped off to the kitchen, long hair audibly dragging behind her, Dipper snatched a red shirt from the growing pile in the corner. A quick sniff determined that it would do for the day, and he quickly tugged it over his head. He repeated the process for a pair of pants, then slipped into a pair of shoes, making a mental note to do laundry later.

Grabbing his current book from his desk, he strode out of his room and into the kitchen, only to find Mabel kneeling on the countertop and trying to cram herself into one of the cabinets.

"Um, Mabel? Need some help there?" he quipped, resting the hardcover on the table. He approached her carefully, honestly curious of her motive.

"Shh!" Mabel shot back, still scrambling to fit into the small space. After another minute of grunting and disapproving creaks from the cabinets, she pulled her head back out to address him. "I'm playing hide and seek with Waddles. Think you can give me a boost?"

"Why the cabinets?" Dipper groaned, moving to hoist her up anyway. "Especially those cabinets?" He nodded his head toward the perfectly spacious cabinets along the ground.

"Pssh, Waddles hid in those the last round," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Besides, there's no way he'd find me up here! Victory is in the bag!"

Dipper tuned out the last part, opting to focus on the statement regarding the pig in the cabinet with their dishes. He was suddenly very concerned for his health.

"Don't worry about that, Dippo, we're magic, remember?" Mabel pointed out calmly, as if reading his thoughts. For all he knew, she had; they were constantly discovering new uses for their magic.

Dipper shrugged, not harboring the patience to fight a losing battle. Instead, he braced his hands on Mabel's hips and lifted her into the cabinet, helping her tuck her legs in when she turned around. The real challenge was her hair – all ninety feet of it. Knowing that she wouldn't let him go until it was all hidden away, the brunet began the tedious process of balling up armfuls of the silky waves and depositing them in her lap.

"Thank you very much," she sang when he finished, pulling the cabinet doors in on herself. "Don't tell Waddles where I am!" she ordered quickly before sealing the doors completely.

Dipper rolled his eyes, collecting his book and seating himself in front of the short stack of pancakes at the dinner table. He frowned, realizing that Mabel had not only cooked alone, but also eaten. His dream must've been longer than he'd thought.

He sighed, grabbing the pot of syrup and drizzling some onto his breakfast. As the first piece of pancake fell off of his fork and onto his tongue, he felt a warm mass rub against his leg.

"Good morning, Waddles," he greeted, reaching a hand down to pat the piglet's fuzzy head. Waddles leaned into the touch, snuffling in approval.

He stroked the animal's head until he scampered off, no doubt in pursuit of his owner. Dipper dutifully ignored the clattering of objects being turned over, picking up the book and thumbing to the page he'd left off on. When Waddles returned to nudge at his chair, he didn't spare the piglet a glance, gesturing in the general direction of the kitchen.

About five minutes later, he heard Mabel's dejected cry as Waddles squealed at her from the countertop directly below her hiding place. "Darn it, Dipper! You ratted me out, didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied, eyes focused on the text.

There was some shuffling, then a loud bang that Dipper deduced to be the cabinet door slamming against another. "Hey bro bro, I could use a hand here!"

"You got yourself up there, you can get yourself down."

"But I didn't get myself up here alone!" Mabel whined.

Any other time, Dipper would've rushed to help her down, but he was fixated on the passage he was reading. He didn't even hear the thud of his sister dropping to the ground, nor did he catch her sneaking up behind him, dragging hair and all.

"Whatcha readin'?" she crooned, head resting on his shoulder.

Dipper wasn't even fazed. "It's one of Gideon's books," he answered shortly, flipping to the next page.

Mabel predictably gasped. "Dipper, you know you're not supposed to go into Gideon's library! Don't you remember what he did the last time he caught you?"

Concluding the section, Dipper sighed, snapping the book shut. "Why does it matter? The guy hates me – we all know it!" He was slightly relieved when Mabel didn't try to cut in with a rebuttal. "Besides, why does he even have a library here? He only ever visits twice a week to use our magic and deliver fresh food! It's like he's trying to find a plausible reason to punish me!" And maybe that was the case.

"Dipper, I'm sure Gideon loves us! Why else would he continue to come back and feed us?"

"Did I not just say 'to use our magic,' because I thought I made it pretty clear?" Dipper snapped, frowning a second later at Mabel's downtrodden expression.

"Hey, I'm sorry," he hurriedly apologized, wrapping an arm around his sister's shoulders. "I guess I'm just jealous of all of the attention he gives you."

He heard Mabel sniffle and instantly felt awful. While he was fairly certain that Gideon was only using them, he didn't have any evidence of that. It wasn't his place to ruin his sister's view of the only guardian they'd known with his silly suspicions; especially when said guardian showed her so much affection.

He held his sister until she calmed down, an embrace that always gave them comfort. When her shoulders ceased their trembling, he pulled back, giving her a soft smile.

"Hey, have you finished our new clothes, yet? I'm really excited to try mine on!" A change of subject was definitely the right move, Mabel's eyes instantly alight.

"I'm so glad you reminded me! I'm almost finished with yours, but I need to make some alterations. Hurry up and eat so you can come try it on!"

Dipper turned back to his cold breakfast as his sister skipped out of the room. A giddy smile overtook his features as he thought about their plans. He allowed himself to daydream, not even reacting to the soggy pancakes he shoveled into his mouth.

His eyes followed their paintings on the wall, various renderings of the world outside – or at least, what they knew of it. Most of it was based off of the view from the lone window of their tower. Gideon used it to come and go, using Mabel's hair as a foothold for climbing as soon as it was long enough. Much of Dipper's art was based on descriptions he'd read and pictures drawn in the books he'd stolen from their guardian's study.

The most prominent painting, and definitely the favorite among them both, was the night sky flooded with the floating lights that they'd see every year on their birthday. Deep indigo dotted with bright cream and dandelion orbs, hovering over the pine forest. At the crest of a hill sat two figures, hand in hand, staring up at the spectacle in awe.

He and Mabel had painted the scene together. Both had longed to see the unknown lights up close since they had first wandered to the window and seen the moving orbs from afar. It was a sight that both excited and eluded them, but if all went according to plan, the latter would change in just a few days!


"Ouch! Mabel, would it be possible for you to maybe not impale me again?" Dipper quipped, wincing as she removed the pin from his side.

"Sorry, bro bro, but you have a bit more muscle in your arms and your waist is thinner than when I last measured you… have you been working out?"

Dipper blushed. So his push-ups and sit-ups were actually paying off. "Maybe a little. I don't know, maybe we'll meet some cute strangers along the way."

Mabel beamed at him. "That's what I'm counting on! Trust me, Dip, in this getup you'll get all kinds of attention!"

As Mabel moved to grab some more pins, Dipper admired himself in the full-body mirror opposite him. A sapphire shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows beneath a dark grey vest and tucked into tan pants. He had to admit that the colors complimented his skin and eyes better than he'd thought when he saw it on the mannequin. He glanced over to Mabel's outfit, draped over another mannequin in the corner. It was an innovative design, a fuchsia jumpsuit with pant legs that fanned out like a dress. A thick purple belt wrapped around its waist, making the piece as elegant as it was versatile. She'd included a matching purple coat for herself, the unfinished garment strewn across a table next to the sewing machine. Designs for additional pieces were scattered along the rest of the tables and chairs.

"I'm working on some extra clothes for us to pack, too, just in case," she explained, catching his wandering gaze. "Nothing too excessive, and they'll all be similar, so this should be the only fitting that I'll have to do."

Dipper nodded, humming absentmindedly as Mabel finished taking measurements, marking the areas to be hemmed and removing the pins carefully. "Hey, what are we going to do when this is over?"

He hadn't meant to ask the question, but it slipped out before he could think to close his mouth. It certainly caught Mabel off guard, the brunette frozen in place.

"Huh, I never thought about that…" she murmured. "Unless something happens to change our minds, I guess we come back?"

The thought was depressing, and Dipper desperately wanted to brainstorm a different option, but before he could he was disrupted by a ringing bell.

"Oh Maaaaaaabelllll! Diiiiiiiippeerrrrr!" a soft voice called.

Wide brown eyes met each other, mirroring a panicked expression. "Shit! He's here early!"

"I'll change while you pull him up!" Dipper ordered, Mabel nodding before racing out of the room.

He unhooked the vest and shimmied out of the pants, throwing them onto the mannequin. He managed to remove the shirt and pull his pants back on just before he heard Gideon flop through the window. Snatching his shirt off of the chair, he slipped out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind himself.

"Thank you, my dear, that must be so exhausting!" Gideon patted Mabel's arm as she reeled in the rest of her hair from the window. "You should get your brother to help you every once in a while! Where is that lazy beansprout?"

Lazy beansprout? Dipper frowned to himself as he entered the room, forcing a smile to his lips when Gideon caught sight of him. "Gideon! You're here earlier than usual!"

The older man had a rather stout figure, punctuated by his large, white pompadour mane. Beside Mabel, he looked a bit worse for wear. He'd learned over the years that Gideon wasn't as young as he'd seemed, and that as the years went on, he aged quicker. Mabel had used her magic on him earlier that week, yet he was already getting age spots and wrinkles around his eyes and hands.

Gideon regarded him suspiciously, a false smile of his own plastered to his pale face. "Well I just hate leaving my two favorite little ragamuffins alone!"

"Right," Dipper murmured skeptically. You have to be on his good side if you're going to ask! Gritting his teeth, Dipper faced his white-haired caregiver again. "Well since you're here, would you like a recharge?"

Gideon's grin widened. "Why that sounds lovely, my boy!" He placed the basket that he'd been carrying on the kitchen counter before taking his usual seat, a large wine-colored armchair in the living room. The rich color greatly contrasted his paper white skin and typical light blue attire.

Dipper sat on a stool at his feet, reluctantly taking his wrinkled hands and beginning to recite the incantation they'd been taught at a young age. He swallowed the temptation to test a new spell that he'd read that morning, knowing that Gideon would catch him instantly.

He immediately felt the effects of the spell – a tug in his gut as energy was pulled from his core to his hands, transferring to Gideon through their shared contact. He recalled the first time he'd actually felt this:

He and Mabel were three years old and toddling around when Gideon came in from his study looking completely drained. He slumped into his chair, calling for the younger of the twins.

"Dipper, I would like to teach you some magic. Would that be okay?"

Dipper eagerly nodded, relating it to the magic he'd seen Gideon work around the tower.

"Alright, now repeat after me." Gideon paused to take a labored breath before reciting the youth-restoring spell, breaking every couple of words for Dipper to follow along. It was a laborious process ensuring that he pronounced it correctly, but when the intelligent child finally picked up on it, a great burden was lifted.

"I want you to practice that with your sister; can you do that for me?" An enthusiastic nod was his reply as he retreated back to his study.

After the initial adrenaline wore off, Dipper became aware of how unusually tired he was. His fingers still tingled from where Gideon had touched him, and his head was swimming.

Over the years, he'd strengthened his stamina, allowing for greater output before he weakened. Unfortunately, this also allowed for Gideon to drain more out of him at once on some occasions. Fortunately, if the trickling flow of energy was any indication, this wasn't one of those times.

Mabel spared no time in initiating their plan, sidling up to the seated man with an eager smile. "So, Gideon, Dipper and I have a request."

Gideon hummed, directing his attention to the brunette. "I'm listening, my sweet."

"Well, as I'm sure you know, a very important day is coming up," she began, sharing a genuine smile with her brother.

"Right, right, a very important day, indeed," Gideon agreed, baby blue eyes darting around. "Er, what might that be?"

"It's our eighteenth birthday," Dipper ground out as he finished, releasing the man's now-softened hands and standing to his feet. "Though you'd know that if you actually cared about us," he mumbled to himself, rolling his eyes.

"What Dipper means," Mabel quickly recovered, swatting Dipper's chest, "is our birthday is in a couple of days, and we know exactly what we would like!"

Gideon raised a brow at that, gesturing for them to continue.

The twins exchanged an apprehensive look before blurting out in unison: "We'd like to see the floating lights!"

Gideon's expression quickly morphed to one of confusion. "Floating lights? Oh, do you mean the stars?"

"Not quite," Mabel disagreed, nodding to her brother.

Dipper was across the room, standing beside a section of the wall that was less illuminated. He conjured a small ball of light, sending it up to the rafters. Light poured onto a full chart of stars and constellations that stretched across the ceiling. He also shone some light on the wall directly behind him, the portrait of Mabel and him seated under the orbs of light. "As you can see here, Mabel and I have charted the patterns of the stars with regard to the seasons and the times of day. But these particular lights don't follow the same pattern, not to mention that they are much larger and brighter."

"In fact, they only seem to appear once a year on our birthday," Mabel added, moving to join her brother. "And we can't help but feel that it's not a coincidence."

Gideon scoffed, but Dipper picked up on the way that he shifted subtly. "Oh please, they're just a bunch of lights. Not everything has to be so dramatic."

"But we still want to see them!" Mabel protested.

"Gideon, we're almost eighteen, and there's two of us," Dipper argued. "Not to mention that we're magic and you trained us in basic self-defense."

"Please?"

Gideon sighed, rubbing at his temples. "Look, I hate to be the bad guy here, you two know that, but you're just not ready to take on the world. There's nothing out there that you can't find here. I'm just trying to protect you, saplings."

Mabel was hesitant to dispute against that, but Dipper sensed the false modesty. "Protect us from what? Protecting and holding captive are two completely different things!"

That comment seemed to enrage Gideon to inexplicable levels. Before Dipper could react, an invisible hand was wrapped around his throat.

"Can you protect yourself from this, boy?" the man hissed, clenching his fist tighter. "We're not the only magic users around, you know. What if someone were to attack you like this?"

Dipper gasped for air, futilely trying to clutch at the force exerting pressure on his windpipe. All thought escaped him, with the exception of 'NEED MORE AIR!' As much as he hated to concede, Gideon had a point there.

"Dipper!" Mabel's cry startled Gideon out of his rage-induced fit, and he quickly released the brunet. Dipper dropped to his hands and knees, choking as his lungs were flooded with air.

"I-I'm sorry. I thought you were going to defend yourself," Gideon mumbled, retreating to the kitchen while Mabel knelt by Dipper's side. "But I hope you see my point; there are people out there even more powerful than me who may want to do you harm. I keep you two hidden here for your safety. There are rumors of a second war brewing, and I don't need my precious flowers mixed up in that. And don't even think about asking me to accompany you because the answer will still be 'no'. You're not allowed to leave this tower. Do you understand?"

Dipper sat up with Mabel's help, focused on inhaling slow, deep breaths. He shared a quick look with his sister – it seemed as though they'd have to settle for Plan B.

"We understand," Dipper mumbled, voice a bit hoarse. "We're – I am – sorry."

The apology seemed to appease their guardian, the man nodding with a small smile before turning to the basket that he'd brought in. He began unpacking various ingredients, claiming to be making their favorite dish.

"So we can't leave the tower," Mabel agreed, "but are we still allowed to ask for birthday presents?"

"As long as it doesn't involve you leaving to get it, you may," Gideon allowed, filling a pot with water and setting it on the stove. "What would you like, my pet?"

"Well I could use some new fabric… Oh, and more paint! I really love that eggshell color that you brought me from your trip to the coast!"

"Is that all?" Gideon chuckled. "I could have that back for you here in about an hour!"

"No!" Mabel cried, eyes wide. "When you teleport it ruins the quality! The last time you brought me paint it was all mixed together and some was super thick and some was super runny. I had to throw the entire batch away!"

"But that journey takes almost a full week by foot!" Gideon complained. "I'd return a few days late for your birthday."

Mabel pouted, a completely downtrodden look overtaking her round face. "I know, but I just thought it was a better idea than the lights…"

Dipper had to resist the urge to do a celebratory dance right then and there. Gideon could never refuse Mabel, especially when she was upset, (unless it had to do with going outside).

Predictably, Gideon stepped away from the stove and pulled Mabel into a hug, stroking her hair lovingly. "It's alright, my dear, I'll go. There's no need for any of that."

Mabel sniffled and pulled back, a small smile on her lips. "Really? Thank you, Gideon!"

"You are very welcome," Gideon smiled back, ruffling her hair. He turned to Dipper, next. "Is there anything that you would like while I'm gone?"

Dipper was caught off guard by the question, assuming that Mabel's list would've been more than enough for Gideon to tolerate. "Um, yeah, actually. I really like the style of that journal you brought home a couple of years ago. I'd like one of those, if it's okay."

To his immense surprise, Gideon grinned. "I can pick that up along the way, so it's perfectly fine. Is that it? Your sister had a huge list."

Dipper really didn't want to push his luck, but he had been itching to read something fresh. He'd gone through just about every one of Gideon's books, and he had an inkling that the man knew because he hadn't brought home any new ones recently. "Well, I would like a couple of new books to read. I've read the three that you gave us last year cover-to-cover about twenty times already."

"He's not exaggerating," Mabel agreed.

Gideon seemed to contemplate this for a moment before finally nodding. "Sounds fair enough. I'll be on my way as soon as I leave here. Would you two be so kind as to prepare a few things for my journey?"

"Of course, Gideon!" Mabel chirped, running off to her 'studio.' Dipper had seen a few larger articles of clothing in there that he assumed Mabel had been working on for their caretaker.

Dipper shrugged, grabbing a basket and moving to the pantry. He began filling it with fresh fruit and a couple of loaves of bread. He also added a jar of Mabel's homemade jam and some cookies that they'd baked together yesterday.

He was just backing out of the pantry when he felt that force from before grab him around the waist and slam him into the wall. It crawled up his chest, ensnaring him from collar to hip like a giant fist. His vision blurred with spots, head aching from the impact. There was a low growl in his ear, and he could feel a warm, yet menacing breath on his neck.

"You will keep your sister safe while I'm gone." It wasn't a request. "The two of you will be in this tower to greet me when I return like the good little children you are, am I clear?"

Dipper tried to choke out a response, but it died in his throat. He settled for a nod, just managing to bob his head over the invisible fist strangling him. Angry flames danced in Gideon's usually docile eyes, making Dipper wince.

Suddenly, he was back on his feet, the force steadying him as he wobbled weakly. The rage was gone from Gideon's features, replaced with an emotionless expression.

"I trust that you'll keep your word. Don't forget, or you'll regret crossing me, boy."

Just then Mabel came prancing in, a pile of folded clothes in her hands. "I heard a loud bang. Did something fall?"

"Yeah, I just dropped a couple of the pots in the pantry. Sorry," Dipper lied. The approving smile that he received from his abuser made him sick to his stomach.

"As long as you're okay, it's fine," Mabel assured. She took the basket from Dipper's arm, rearranging the items inside to make room for the clothes. She secured the basket with a blanket that she tucked around everything else before handing it to Gideon.

"Thank you, my dear," their guardian smiled, petting Mabel's hair affectionately as he accepted the supplies.

The trio walked to the window, the only exit to the tower. Gideon pulled his cloak back on before opening his arms for a hug. Mabel didn't hesitate to barrel into the man, giving him a squeeze that left him breathless. Dipper resisted the urge to snicker as he went in for his own embrace, though the sentiment exchanged between the two was not the same.

"I'll be back in five days," Gideon stated, eyes meeting Dipper's. He turned back to where Mabel stood at the window, hair dangling from a hook outside. "I love you two very much."

"We love you more," she countered, holding her hair steady as he latched onto it and sat on the ledge.

"I love you most," he chuckled.

Without further delay, Dipper and Mabel lowered Gideon to the ground outside using Mabel's hair. They watched him walk to the edge of their grotto, disappearing beyond the rocks and ivy curtain that isolated them from the rest of the world.


A/N: Hooray for Plan B! While Gideon's away, the twins will play. Bill will be introduced next chapter, I promise! Until then~