This one made more sense in my head when I started it. Oops.
Final Form
The moment her voice registered in his head, his body froze and Dipper found that it was difficult to breathe properly.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. You should have known she was there. You should have guessed.
It couldn't be her, she was right in front of him, but when he turned she was standing right there with his journal in hand. She was blushing slightly, seeming awkward with her red hair askew and her plaid shirt tied around her waist. It had to be some sort of trick of the mind but it wasn't because she was right there and he felt his face turn scarlet.
Stupid! How could you not have heard her? How could you have not seen her?
"W-Wendy...?"
He glanced back at the still form of the redhead on the ground, a sense of dread filling him as he wiped his tears away. "W-Wait, then who's...?"
The doppelganger sat up and growled at Wendy, charging with inhumane speed. Dipper yelled at her to look out, horrified when the two began to wrestle for the journal, shouting at one another. He lost track of who was the shapeshifter after only a few moments, unable to guess which was his not-so-secret crush.
As they fought, Dipper's eye was drawn to the fallen axe, gleaming on the soggy earth. He glanced back at the two Wendys and felt sick as an idea came to mind.
No. That's too dangerous! You could guess wrong and kill the real Wendy! screamed a voice in his head.
But somehow the boy found himself picking up the axe and racing towards the fight, hefting it up beside his head as he searched for some indication as to who was who.
The Wendys took notice of him as he neared, both having a tug of war with the journal now, and began to shout at each other and at him.
"Give it back! It belongs to Dipper!"
"Hit her with the axe!"
"Don't listen to her!"
"She's the shapeshifter!"
It was impossible to tell the difference. Both looked exactly alike. The shapeshifter had done its job well in baffling the twelve year old.
"I don't know who's who!" he cried. "Give me a sign!"
The Wendy on the right winked at him subtly, as if having told a secret joke between them. The other merely made an all-too-familiar display of zipping her lips shut, and Dipper held back a gasp of recognition. The shapeshifter could fool him with appearances but there was no way the creature would know about little things like that.
The boy swung the axe as hard as he could at the doppelganger and the two friends watched as it roared in anguish and transformed into the disgusting true form of the shapeshifter. Dipper glanced at the freezing tubes behind the monster and got an idea as it flashed READY.
"Push him in!" he told Wendy. She nodded and the two charged, pushing the creature with all their strength into the waiting tube. They backed up quickly as it tried to rush at them but the door closed on it. They watched as the shapeshifter howled and began transforming into other creatures, pounding on the glass angrily in a futile effort to escape before it froze.
"Let's get out of here, dudes." Dipper turned and saw Soos and his twin had met up with them. He nodded and they began to walk away, already beginning to relax after the crazy events of that day.
A sudden dark laugh reached the boy's ears and they all froze, turning back to the freezing tube. An uneasy feeling filled Dipper's heart as he realized he could not see the monster inside the tube.
Without warning, its ugly face reappeared and they gasped as it seemed to look directly at them, not yet frozen.
"You think you're so clever, don't you, Dipper? But you have no idea what you're up against. You will never find the author. If you keep digging, you'll meet a fate worse than you can imagine. And this will be the last form you ever take!"
On those last words, the shapeshifter changed one final time, becoming none other than Dipper himself, screaming in terror. The creature froze in that very form, and the real Dipper felt a shudder run up his spine at the terrible sight. Well, that's not creepy at all.
"Hah! Good luck sleeping tonight!" Soos said, trying to lighten the mood. No one laughed, though. Mabel glanced at her brother and Dipper swallowed down his fright long enough to say quietly, "Let's get out of this place."
The others murmured agreement and they walked in silence, leaving behind the frozen monster and trying not to appear fazed by its ominous warning. Dipper could feel everyone glancing at him from time to time, though, and he tried not to notice. He couldn't help but see that screaming doppelganger in his head again, the terror in his eyes not lost on the preteen boy.
What did the shapeshifter mean? The last form I'll ever take?
Dipper silently led the group through the security room, being careful not to step on the alarm again.
What exactly am I "up against"? Gideon? Bill? Something worse than the shapeshifter and all of the monsters I've seen so far combined?
Whatever it was, the boy prayed he never found out.
Why do I like making these dark and ominous..? I have no idea.
Any requests?
