Chapter Three – Taking a look around
The doctor told Dipper he could get off the examination table. The boy nodded and leaped down, immediately taking his eyes off the pediatrician and glancing at Gideon. His face was completely emotionless. Gid felt sickly, he didn't like blood, and parts of the bandages wrapped around Dipper's head were brown with dried blood. Wimp, all you can do is think about yourself. You're not the one with a fractured skull.
He almost laughed at the fact that, two hours ago, he had almost enjoyed seeing the bruises and cuts, and after all, Dipper had tried to doom everyone on earth. Just two hours ago, the tween had 'deserved' it. What had changed? Was it seeing the Gleeful girl crying? Was it the fact that, while they were bringing him here, he had become afraid that he would never wake up? Why had he thought that? Wouldn't the world be better off without him?
The door opened, and he glanced over to see Paz give him a "Mabel's not going anywhere look." He sighed reluctantly as she explained the cover story to the doctor, and felt himself slipping back into the morally grey area which he seemed to be stuck in when he looked over at Dipper again.
But he wasn't the same boy who had tried to kill him and Pacifica on many occasions, which had walked with confidence and had a sinister smile on his face. He didn't treat his sister like crap, he didn't use that elegant tone and those over complex words.
He looked….more human. The expression on his tired face looked just like Gideon's, when he got up in the morning and stared at himself in the mirror. A weak feeling of defeat.
The doctor opened a clipboard and jotted down a few things before tearing off a piece of paper and handed it to Paz.
He leaned down and grew a look of concern, "Where are the boy's parents?"
He raised an eyebrow as he said this. Gid glanced at Dipper, who just stared out the window. Reaching into her purse, Paz produced a wad of cash.
"Just tell my friend here what's wrong and we can get this over with."
She passed Gid with a tired look which shouldn't belong on someone as young as her, this early in the day. He watched her leave, before turning back to see the old man contemplating the bribe. The doctor sighed but began to list what Dipper should and shouldn't do while in this state. But Gideon was only paying giving him half of his attention, he had already begun to contemplate how he was going to get to the bottom of this.
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Dipper Gleeful walked through the Mystery shack, his nose in the journal. He had become fascinated with the sketches and notes, each demonstrating a slight variation in the laws of this world from the ones which governed his own. He had become so engrossed, that he accidentally bumped into a large man in a suit. The man cast a sour look his way, and he recognized him instantaneously. Stan. The man who had a summer vacation into a living hell. His fingers clenched involuntarily at the horrible memories associated with his great uncle. Keep it together. It is imperative that the façade remain untainted.
According to the diary which he had swiped from below the bed, apparently written by the glittery girly-girl version of his sister, they should refer to Stan as "Grunkle." Despite understanding the situation, he was still quite confused about it. How could she be so happy about such a disgusting man? How had this world's version of himself not worked up the courage to backstab the sicko?
His train of thought was broken when the old man gave him a distasteful look and spoke, "Hey kid, watch where you're going! You almost made me spill all this dough."
Dipper lowered his vision to the cash in the geezer's hands, and smiled as he slipped the journal beneath his arm, "Apologies…I mean, I'm sorry…"
He received a skeptical look, and he cursed himself. It was clear that he would have to dumb down his speech if he wanted to appear as this world's Dipper. "Uh,…ermm, Grunkle Stan… I was wondering. Is there a mountain named Scraggle Tooth Peak nearby?"
"One sec kiddo."
The old man filled the register with the cash, and opened the door to welcome some costumers in, greeting each with the same "Welcome to a land of mystery!"
Once done he turned to Dipper and scratched the side of his head. "Do you mean Scraggle Claw Peak? Yeah, it's right on the other side of the lake."
Dipper made a mental note that some places might have different names. Interestingly enough, people did not. He thanked the old man for the information and was leaving the building when the con man called after him.
"Wait a second."
He turned, a little annoyed at the interruption. Stan spoke as he handed what looked like a cheesy idol to a customer, "By the way, think you look better without the hat. WAYYY more confident about that birthmark."
Dipper sighed as he walked through the forest. He had come to the conclusion that this entire dimension was full of imbeciles and madmen.
In a few days you can say goodbye to it all, you just have to play the part for now.
He arrived at the lake and stared across the gloomy waters and menagerie of boats to see the mountain. He would burn this dimension first though. That would make him feel better. Probably.
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Paz sat in the waiting room beside her arch nemesis, feeling as though she was watching a kitten, instead of the psycho that had giggled about killing her just half an hour ago. She had exited the examining room to find Mabel staring at the floor tiles like she had been traumatized by this very incident.
It made no sense. Even if Mabel Gleeful cared more about her brother than she let on, she wouldn't react this way. She had been around death and violence before, so how could she be so out of it now?
Mabel had spent the last fifteen minutes drying her eyes and pacing, and whispering to herself. One of the mothers there had been so disturbed by this behavior that she had asked Paz if the brunette was alright.
"She's just really worried."
She had carried her brother the whole way, whispering to herself and saying things like "I wish Stan was here." and "It's going to be okay. He always turns out okay."
Paz began to wonder if Mabel had switched minds with someone, using something like the rug back at the Mystery Zone. But her clothes were different; she was wearing a sweater with a shooting star on it. A piece of clothing which, besides being totally out of fashion, was something that Mabel Gleeful would not be caught dead in.
There was one last damming piece of evidence, something which Pacifica had almost kicked herself for not realizing until after they had gotten to the doctor's office. How could I not notice the braces?
Mabel lit up when she saw her twin exit the doctor's office, with Gideon behind him. She ran across the tile floor and hugged him, careful not to touch his head. Gideon shuffled past them awkwardly and joined Pacifica.
"He's gonna be fine."
She glanced back at the subject of their discussion dismally, "Fantastic…"
Both of them watched how the Pines twins interacted. "I believe I have come to a conclusion…"
She nodded absentmindedly, "I think I know what you're about to say. They aren't the same people…"
He continued to watch them talk as he spoke, "I don't just think their minds are different, their entire bodies are different. She has braces, and he has scars on his chest which I've never seen before."
She turned her head and peered over at him, "How do you know what his chest looks like?"
Gideon rolled his eyes, "We both saw him in a bathing suit a few weeks ago! Remember when it was a really hot day, and everyone was down at the lake…"
"Oh yeah…" She stared at nothing for a moment and began to drool.
He snapped his fingers in front of her face a few times, "Stop thinking about the shirtless male residents of this town and help me figure out what to do with the twins?"
She looked at the twins one last time and then she turned back to him, "You know who we're gonna have to take them to right?"
He subconsciously nodded, "He's the only one who would know."
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While the best friends discussed their options or lack thereof, the twins were catching up. Mabel's anxiety had faded for the most part, but Dipper continued to reassure her.
"It's okay, all I had was a mild concussion. The doctor said that I should be fine."
He balked upon seeing the wetness of her eyes, "Are-are you okay?"
She nodded before wiping her eyes with her dirty sweater cuffs. "I'm sorry for being angry before."
He shook his head, "You were right, I got us into this, and I have to get us out."
She was still looking at the tile floor, "I-I was afraid that you were going to…die. A-and it was because I wasn't s-strong enough t-to s-save you from falling..."
He licked his lips and rubbed her shoulder, recoiling when she winced at the bruise on her arm. Sighing, he took her hand and gave her a serious look before speaking.
"Mabel, whatever happened, it wasn't your fault, and you couldn't control it. How about we just agree we won't blame each other for whatever happened, hmm?"
She nodded and he gave her another hug.
Then they turned and walked over to Gideon and Pacifica.
Dipper rubbed his eyes, "Okay, so clearly, you two aren't the same people who we know, you just look and…kind of speak the same."
Gid nodded, "Something very strange has taken place, and we think we know a person who can get to the bottom of it."
Paz seemed doubtful, "Gideon…are you sure he'll know about this type of stuff. I mean this is majorly confusing."
He turned to her, "Pacifica, do you remember how much he knew about Quentin Trembly?"
Mabel lit up, "You met Quentin Trembly too?"
Pacifica raised an eyebrow, "He died more than a hundred years ago-and how do you even know about him? Why-?"
Dipper interrupted her. "Can we please just get this over with, who is it that we're going to see?"
Gideon was walking to the exit. "Robert Valentino."
Mabel giggled at the face Dipper made.
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Mabel Gleeful strode down the sidewalk, searching for a distraction. This world bored her to tears, and she had no intention of gathering "info" as suggested by her overbearing sibling.
The moment she left the Mystery Shack, two girls had pulled her aside and had immediately started chatting her ear off. One was very small and of Asian descent, and the other girl spoke like and was about the size of an ape. She had considered telling them to get lost or luring them into an alley and killing them, but something told her that her brother wouldn't like that very much. The only interesting thing that they had been asking her about was the pig.
She had found it while putting one of these stupid and itchy sweaters, lurking under her bed. At first she had found it disgusting. Who keeps a pig in their room? But then she discovered that the creature was well bathed and acted very friendly around her. And she had always had a soft spot for animals, the rabbits that they used in the show, and she never really liked sacrificing them for mystical power. She gave it some of the food which she located in the kitchen, and now it followed her around.
Mabel had just about had enough of the two babbling morons behind her, when she spotted something in a store window. A pendant, just like her amulet, except clearly not enchanted.
Yet.
She walked into the store, not bothering to hold the door.
The one named Candy spoke up, "Mabel…are you alright? You seem distracted."
Pretending not to hear her, Mabel Gleeful strolled up to the pendant. She smiled and slipped a hand out, pocketing it in seconds. Card tricks and dagger throwing had given her amazing dexterity and aim.
She heard a gasp behind her, and sighed as she turned to see the two girls with hands at their faces, the big one spoke first, "Mabel! I can't believe you would steal!"
"Yes, you must put that back, right now!"
Mabel Gleeful picked her nails as she gave them both piercing glares, "Listen girls, they have plenty, and I'm not hurting anybody by taking just one."
Candy looked like she was going to say something but thought better of it.
The other girl still practically yelled her response, "But you still shouldn't steal things!"
Mabel Gleeful was about ready to tackle the girl, but didn't want to ruin her cover and didn't like her chances. Then it hit her, these two saps could actually be useful.
"Alright here's what's going on, me and Dipper need some special items for banishing a demon. This pendant is one of them."
The big boned girl, Brenda, Mabel thought her name was, looked at the floor and mumbled an "Oh…"
Then Mabel Gleeful stepped forward and pretended as if an idea had just come to her,
"What if you guys helped me? Everything would go WAYY faster,"
Candy scowled and fixed her glasses, "I don't know…I…I don't like stealing!"
The magician circled them and smiled as she looked between the two confused faces.
"But I was going to teach you some things I learned about flirting…"
That got their attention, but she was having too much fun to stop there. "And how to make boys want to kiss you."
The two glanced at each other as she turned away and continued with a barely hidden grin, "But I guess if neither of you were interested, I'll just ask Pacifica-"
They ran in front of her, "We will help you!"
"What do you want us to get?"
Mabel Gleeful smiled and picked up her pig. Now this, was going to be fun.