It's Where My Demons Hide
Chapter 3
Dipper's POV
I bolted upright in bed, covered in sweat. Struggling out from under the blanket covers, I could feel the air being sucked out from my body, the atmosphere becoming tighter. Breathing heavily, I sat there for a moment, as images flashed through my head at once. I swiped the sweat from my brow, thinking about the nightmare. Bill had appeared and offered me a deal, which I refused. Then he grabbed me and engulfed me with blue flames. But was that a nightmare? I kept asking myself. It must be a nightmare. It must be. But it seemed so real for a nightmare. Mabel burning the journals . . . Was that a nightmare too?
I glanced at my watch, which read 11:12, and I walked downstairs. Figuring I need to throw off some suspicion, I put on a fake grin on my face. Ford seemed very skeptical of me, for some reasons I do not know. But if he knows about my nightmares and my encounters with Bill, there's a big possibility that he might kick me out of the shack, or worse. I shuddered.
Act happy as if nothing had happened, I reminded myself as I approached my family. Grunkle Stan was flipping some pancakes over the pan, while Mabel and Ford were sitting at the table. Mabel was drinking her Mabel Juice, as she liked to call it. Ford was writing something on his notepad. The atmosphere was strange and awkward. I noticed they were all avoiding meeting my eyes and ignoring me. I frowned.
I sat on a chair and waited for my brunch. That was when I noticed that I had tattoos on my arms. My eyes widened at the sight. So it wasn't a nightmare after all! It had really happened! Then was Mabel burning the journals a real thing too? Wasn't I outside in the forest? How come I ended up in my room? Someone must have brought me back, but whom?
"Glad to see you're awake, kid," began Stan, turning around and placed the pancakes on our plates. "Here is my signature dish, Stan-cakes!" He smiled, while we were all disgusted, except for Ford, who had no idea what was truly inside of his pancakes. Stan-cakes were pancakes that have Stan's hair in it.
Ford help up his fork and took a bit of it. "Terrific, Stanley! Do tell me what secret ingredients you used for these pleasant pancakes!"
"Someone appreciates my cooking! I'll tell you, dear brother, the secret," Stan beamed. "It's my hair!" Ford's eyes widened and attempted to throw up. Laughter filled the room.
After the laughter ceased, and we went on eating our Stan-cakes, avoiding any parts where Stan's hair might be. Suddenly, Mabel asked me, "What's that on your arm? Is that a tattoo?" Wow. This was the first time she had ever spoken to me since the portal incident, and it was a question about the tattoos on my arm, instead of a hello or something.
"None of your business," I snapped. I took my arm off the table and hid it underneath it, so that no one could see them. Ford narrowed his eyes, while Mabel was taken aback. I ignored her and went on eating. Seriously, what was wrong with these two? Why show concern right now? I rolled my eyes. Feeling I couldn't take this anymore, I decided to leave. It was so uncomfortable and awkward. I got up from my seat, thanked Stan for his "delicious" breakfast, and went straight up to my room. I locked the door and lied down on my bed. I groaned in frustration. Could this day get any worse?
Ford's POV
After making sure Dipper had left and was out of earshot, I turned to Mabel and asked quietly, "Is this how Dipper usually acts?"
"No," Mabel replied. "He never snapped at me before. H-he changed . . ." I narrowed my eyes. Something was definitely going on. According to Mabel, Dipper had acted strangely after saving me from the portal. He rarely hanged out with her, and was easily tempered. Was it because of me? Did I do something wrong?
"Someone should go up and check on him," suggested Stan. "and find out what's wrong." We looked at each other. No one wanted to go check on him. Not even Mabel, who continued staring at her unfinished Stan-cake.
"I will," I volunteered. Mabel and Stan looked pretty surprised. I shrugged and walked to the stairs. Maybe I could talk to him, know him a bit, and figure out what's going on to my nephew. As I climbed up the stairs, I came up with bunch of theories of what changed Dipper. He could have been overshadowed by a ghost, or maybe the real him was kidnapped somewhere, and a shapeshifter had disguised himself as his nephew. Maybe it was . . . No, his nephew won't make a deal with Bill Cipher. I got carried away. He's not that stupid, right?
I soon came to the door of the attic. Come on, Ford. You can do this. You had survived 30 years in another dimension; surely you can easily handle this situation. I hesitated before politely knocking the wooden door. "May I come in?
"Go away," I heard Dipper mumble, his voice muffled and cracking. Sighing, I took out my key and unlocked the door. I slowly opened the door, and stepped inside and found Dipper lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Dipper, I –"
"Go AWAY!" He yelled, cutting me in midsentence. He clenched his fists and glared at me. Then a force appeared and knocked me off the ground, blasting me off. My body hit a wall and I crashed on the ground. Grunting, I raised my head to see my nephew's fists engulfed with blue fiery flames, his arms glowing bright gold. I was too weak to move from the pain; my body ached at every move I tried to make. His eyes glowed bright yellow, and his pupil thinned into slits. Why haven't I noticed this before?
I hurriedly grabbed my laser gun out from my pocket and pointed at his direction. However, he was gone before I could pull the trigger. The window was opened. He had jumped out of the window. Jumped out of the window, I repeated in my mind. What had happened to him? One thing he knew for sure was that this was not puberty.
Dipper's POV
I couldn't believe what I did. Anger had gotten the best of me, making me to choose the wrong decisions. I was too angry to think straight. I had blasted Ford! With that much force, he could have been killed! Am I out of my mind? What have I done? I looked at my hands which were engulfed with blue flames, terrified. I was dangerous. I couldn't control my anger, and look what it did to me! Hurting my uncle when he was just trying to help! If I hadn't stopped myself before doing anything to him, my great uncle could have been injured so bad, or even worse, killed! I had to leave. I had to get away from my family, from everyone. That way, they'll be safe and sound.
You know you enjoyed it back there, a voice in my mind taunted.
No, I didn't, I argued back to the voice.
You know you want more, nagged the voice.
That's enough! I demanded. Shaking my head from the voices, I kept running. I'm having a mental argument with myself, I must be going insane. The voices didn't stop, but kept repeating the lines, which infuriated me. Then suddenly someone held my hand and stopped me. The voices stopped too. My hat fell off when I turned around, irritated at sudden disturbance, only to find Mabel holding my hand, tears falling down on her cheeks. I yanked her hand away from me, and dashed as quickly as I could, away from her, back to the woods.
Raindrops began pouring down from the sky. The earth seemed to be shaken by the thunder, and the sky was lit up by the lightening in an eerie way. Every raindrop felt like a torrent of slaps to me. I quickly found shelter under a pine tree and shivered from the coldness. Why did it had to rain now? Guess I have to wait till it ends. I sat on the ground and waited, reminding myself that I was doing for their safety.
"Greetings, dear puppet!" greeted someone beside me, his voice echoed. I didn't need to turn around to see who it was. Bill floated in front of me and saluted by lifting up his hat, which turned the surroundings upside down, until he put it back again.
"What now, Bill?" I spat, clearly annoyed by his presence. "Are you here to steal my body? Give me deer teeth? Give me these weird tattoos on my arms? Because that's not going to happen, so go away!" I crossed my arms and glared at him. But Bill laughed, which was a bit unexpected to me.
"I like your attitude, puppet," he complimented. "You think you're so intimidating, but face the fact, you aren't. However, we can change that. People would fear you, for they know that they should never mess with the higher calling. I can teach you how to achieve that, Pine Tree. I can teach you everything. The others might not know, but you have a great potential waiting to be unlocked. Don't worry, this is not a deal. I don't need anything in return, but I hope you consider this offer."
I was silent the whole time, thinking over the words he had said. Nothing in return, I repeated, not a deal. Bill could teach me everything I want to know, if I accept his offer. I would be part of the higher calling - snap out of it, Dipper! You know you should never trust a demon, I scolded myself. Look what it did to you last time! A part of me wanted to warn me about the consequences if I accept his offer, but a bigger part wanted to accept it.
Suddenly, I felt someone grab by wrist, and my feet not touching the ground anymore. I yelped, and tried to break away from his grasp, but it was too strong. Bill and I were floating in midair, I realized in fear. With a swish from his hand, we disappeared into some kind of portal and came to a place. I stood there, dizzy after floating through the portal. When my vision cleared, I found myself in the center of a mansion, surrounded by various luxury decorations. On the walls, there were taxidermy animals and pictures of pioneers.
"This is the Dreamscape, where we can do whatever we want. You don't have to worry about destroying the place, because it's not real," explained Bill, after seeing my confused face. "Have fun, kid!"
"Why are you doing this to me? Why should I even trust you?" I questioned, feeling skeptical at this whole situation. He had offered me to teach me everything, and wanted nothing in return! Then he had brought me to a place where he called it the Dreamscape, and told me that I can do anything here. Was he testing me?
Bill cackled, "It's funny how dumb you are," before disappearing into thin air.
"Bill, come back! BILL!" I yelled. My finger started blackening, but I was too bothered to even care. All I could think was Bill. Why did he leave me here alone? Why was he doing this? Why, why, why? "BILL!" I yelled again, this time my voice echoed loudly around the room. Blue flames surrounded me in a circle, burning the surroundings, but I didn't bother. I was too tired of his little games.
"Dipper, STOP!"shouted a high-pitched voice behind me. I turned around, and my eyes widened when I saw Pacifica staring at me in fear.
"Pacifica?"
"Dipper, why are you doing this?" cried Pacifica, waving her arms about in the air. "You're burning my house!"
"Bill, you're playing a dangerous game. Don't think this obstacle will fool me," I said, my voice echoing. This was the dreamscape. None of this was real. This 'Pacifica' was simply an illusion to trick me and lure me into Bill's trap. A monster in disguise, I thought. I couldn't trust her.
"Dipper..." She said, her voice trailing off as she extended her hand at me. I backed away from her, as if her hand was poisonous.
"Don't think you can fool me, y-you monster!" I shouted at her. This is a trap. Don't fall into it.
"What, you're calling me a monster? I mean, look at you! You're the real monster here. What's wrong with you?" Pacifica yelled back at me. "You're insane!"
"Everything's wrong, Llama."
"What?"
"But you're right on one thing," I said, as I looked straight into her eyes. "I am insane."
Pacifica's POV
I was organizing my wardrobe when I heard a familiar voice calling out. Then all of a sudden, the mansion started to crumble and burn to crisps. The force knocked me over and I crash landed on the floor, all bruised. I groaned painfully. My nails were all broken! My hair was all messed up!
Only our Waiters and I were left to watch over the house. My parents had gone onto a business trip, so they would not be coming until next month. Perhaps it was a kitchen fire. But no kitchen fires had blue flames and such a big force that could knock people over. So who was the cause?
I ran to the Great Room and found a dark familiar figure standing in the center of the room, engulfed with blue flames. He was the cause of all this, I realized in shock. I couldn't believe it! It was Dipper! I hid behind a large chair and observed carefully. He changed since I had last seen him. Dipper had a tattoo of words on his arms that were glowing bright yellow. His eyes were also glowing gold and he seemed to have fangs. What happened to him?
"Dipper, STOP!" I yelled frantically. Dipper turned around, looking really annoyed. Then I noticed his eyes widened when he saw me.
"Pacifica?" He asked, his eyes narrowing as if his eyes were playing tricks.
"Dipper, why are you doing this? You're burning my house!"
Dipper looked straight at me, and threatened, his voice echoing, "Bill, you're playing a dangerous game. Don't think this obstacle will fool me." Obstacle? Bill? What was he even talking about? Whatever he was talking about, it made me shiver. Since when did his voice begin to echo?I didn't like this new Dipper. I wanted my old Dipper back. My eyes started to water. I tried to reach him, but he backed away from me.
"Dipper..." I said fearfully, scared he might hurt me any second.
"Don't think you can fool me, y-you monster!" He shouted.
That was it. I yelled back at him, "What, you're calling me a monster? I mean, look at you! You're the real monster here. What's even wrong with you? You're insane!"
"Everything's wrong, Llama."
"What?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips. Okay, this was confusing. Did he just call me a llama? What the heck?
"But you're right on one thing," Dipper said as he looked at me, grinning madly. "I am insane." Then Dipper laughed. His laughter filled the mansion. I was shocked to even utter a word. How could he laugh at this kind of situation? Gradually, the flames died down, but Dipper was still laughing. I didn't know what to do.
Suddenly, two man came storming in, both holding guns. A man showed me his ID card and said, "Agent Powers and Triggers here. We're here to arrest the boy who had burnt the Northwest Mansion. Move! Move! Move!" More men came behind him and ran to Dipper. They handcuffed Dipper and pushed him to the Government Car. Dipper glared at them while grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
"What are you going to do to him?" I asked, concerned.
An agent I think was called Triggers, looked at me and snapped, "What we'll do to him is classified. Now why don't you go back and mind your own business?" I glared at him and turned to run to the place to inform everyone - The Mystery Shack. Oh, Dipper ... I hope you're alright.
Mabel's POV
"Grunkle Stan! The Ducktective is on! We can finally found out who's the murderer!" I squealed excitedly. Waddles was sleeping on my lap, while I was getting ready to watch the TV.
He will return ... I know he will. My eyes were all red and puffy from all the crying. I turned on the TV and clutched Dipper's hat hard to my chest, teardrops falling down. Stan had told me that watching TV would make me feel better and might help me forget all my worries. I hoped he was right.
Where are you, Dipper . . . Yesterday, Great Uncle Ford had gone out to search him, but without luck. It's been a day now, and he still hadn't returned from the last "small" incident. Ford seemed to lock himself in his room more ever since then.
Grunkle Stan sat down next to me and we watched the show quietly. Suddenly, someone knocked the door. Who could that be? I opened the door, to find Pacifica there. Pacifica was in a bad condition. I wondered what happened to her. "Mabel, you've got to help me! He -"
"Hot Belgium Waffles! " interrupted Stan, pointing at the TV screen, which showed the Breaking news by Shandra the News Reporter. "This can't be true!" We went to Stan's side and looked at the screen, wondering what made him so shocked.
The screen read "Northwest Mansion Burnt." I glanced at Pacifica, who was staring at the screen, brows furrowed together. I turned back to the screen, which now showed Shandra collecting her papers, before saying, "Breaking news, everybody. Today at 8:37, there was a fire in the Northwest Mansion. No one was injured or killed. Surprisingly, the cause of the fire was none other than a 12 year old boy called Dipper Pines." Shandra paused and showed a photo of Dipper beside her, then continued, "The only witness so far, was Pacifica Northwest. Dipper is now arrested by the Government Agents and currently in the Gravity Falls Maximum Security Prison. More details will be given you by Toby."
I stared at the screen in disbelief. No way would Dipper do that. It was impossible! I looked at Stan, hoping it was all just a lie. Stan nodded, while Pacifica began sobbing. What have you done . . .
Hello! I just want to thank all of you guys who read this book! 229 views, 3 Favorites and 10 follows! You guys are the best! Also, a big thank you to Dadanaelle-La-Lectrice and Ambernot for reviewing this story! I'm glad you enjoyed it and I really appreciated it!