CHAPTER FOUR
Stan and Ford stared at the nervous faces of the twins.
"Well, what is it?" Stan said gently. "Yer both okay, right?"
"We're… fine", Dipper said. "It's just… What we have to tell you might come as kind of a shock".
"Yeah", Mabel said awkwardly, "so, might wanna sit down for this one".
Neither of their Grunkles moved from where they stood.
"It's alright kids", Ford said, smiling reassuringly. "This is Gravity Falls. Most everything is surprising or shocking in this town".
The two of them each took a deep breath (unnecessary considering they didn't need to breathe, but calming nonetheless).
"Well", Dipper said. "When Bill pulled us into the rift, it took us to something called the Nexus. It's the world between worlds. It's where all universes are connected".
The elder twins wore identical baffled faces, though for different reasons.
"It was crazy in there", Mabel said, "we could see so many universes all tied together in clusters, it would have been pretty cool if it weren't for… you know, the jerkface dream demon".
"Well, while we were in there", Dipper said. "Bill absorbed a ton of the energy there to restore himself, then used it to do some… pretty horrible things to us".
They noticed Stan's fists clench, and Ford's eyes grow murderous. The both of them would have loved to tear Bill to pieces if they could.
"And then he killed us", Mabel said, a little too bluntly.
"WHAT!?" Stan yelled, deepest upset and concern etched into his voice and face. He ran over to the two of them and grabbed their shoulders. "B-But, yer here aren't you? Yer not like, ghosts or somethin', are ya?!"
"No, we're not ghosts", Dipper said. "And that's just it. We didn't stay dead".
"What do you mean?" Ford said.
"What it sounds like, basically", Dipper said. "We came back from the dead, just different. I… I don't know how we did exactly, but we sort of absorbed the energy of the Nexus into ourselves and became gods".
Stan and Ford glanced at one another, the both of them confused.
"What in the heck are you talkin' about?" Stan said.
"We came back as super powerful god thingies and beat Bill", Mabel said.
"Killed him, more specifically", Dipper said darkly.
He didn't miss the brief glimmer of vindictive pleasure that showed in Ford's eyes, but his great uncle didn't show it for long before hiding it. Celebrating Bill's defeat could wait right now.
"This… this is weird", Stan said, rubbing his temples. "An' that's sayin' somethin' in this freakshow of a town".
He went to sit down in his armchair, his eyes blank. Ford pressed on, however.
"What happened after that?" he said.
"We teleported back home", Mabel said. "And when we woke up, we were back to normal".
"Or at least it looked that way", Dipper said. "We look like we always have, but… we're still not human".
Ford's eyes were unreadable, but it was clear that he was in just as much shock as his twin slouched over in the armchair.
"So what exactly are you?" he said, as gently as possible.
"We don't know", Dipper said. "I mean, we don't have godly power anymore, but we can still… uhh".
"We still have these crazy awesome powers", Mabel enthused, and she snapped her fingers, causing the carpet to briefly light up in glowing rainbow colours, before she snapped her fingers again and reverted it back to normal.
"Yeah, that", Dipper said, laughing and awkwardly scratching the back of his head. Then, he levitated the T-Rex skull into the air, opening and closing its jaws a few time before setting it back down.
"This… this is astonishing", Ford said in a hushed voice.
"Astonishing?" Stan said. "ASTONISHING!?"
Ford and the twins jumped.
"Stanley, what…" Ford began.
"This is… I don't… Kids, I… I'm so sorry", Stan choked out, before he ran from the room.
"Stanley, wait!" Ford called, but too late as Stan ran from the house and out towards the woods.
"You two wait here", Ford said quickly before racing after his brother.
Dipper and Mabel were now left alone, awkwardly staring at one another.
"I guess he didn't take it too well", Mabel said sadly.
Ford found Stan a few minutes later leaning against a tree, his forehead pressed against the bark.
"Stanley", he said, "I know this is a little shocking, but…"
"It's terrible", Stan hissed bitterly. "I… I never should have let them come to this fucking town. Th-they're just kids Stanford. They haven't even turned thirteen yet. And now, they… they aren't even human anymore. I was supposed to protect 'em Sixer, to keep 'em safe".
"Stanley, look at me", Ford said, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.
Stan looked up into his brother's eyes, his own eyes puffy and red.
"They're still Dipper and Mabel", Ford said. "This is unexpected and shocking to say the least, but the kids are still the kids. Human or not, nothing will change that. It's not ideal, no, but…"
"They were supposed to live normal lives", Stan said. "This should never have happened. What does this mean for 'em Stanford? What will their lives be now?"
"We'll be fine, Grunkle Stan", Mabel said.
Stan and Ford jumped, then turned around to face her, and saw both of the younger twins standing before them.
"K-kids", Stan said.
Ford was going to reprimand them for not staying back at the Shack, but then he stopped himself. He was sure Dipper and Mabel would be much more able to comfort Stan on this matter than he himself was.
"Yeah, we'll be okay", Dipper said, smiling softly. "We're not human anymore, but we're still us. And we're gonna be fine. We're alive, and that's what counts, right?"
"Of course it is", Stan said, approaching the two of them. "That's all that matters. But it's just… The two o' you kids should be able to lead normal lives. You didn't deserve this".
"Are you kidding?" Mabel said. "I love these powers. Look at the things I can do".
Looking up to the sky, she morphed a cloud into a smiley face shape. Then, she levitated a little ways into the air.
"We can fly, Grunkle Stan", she said cheerily. "This whole, not human anymore thing is super freaky and weird, yeah. But we still look and act just the same, so really, what's to be upset about? We're Mabel and Dipper, like we've always been, just with the addition of super amazing chaos powers".
"Yeah, I can't deny, this is pretty cool", Dipper said, levitating into the air besides his twin.
The twins and Ford all smiled warmly at Stan, and slowly, their Grunkle relented and cracked a smile of his own.
"Ahh, c'mere ya knuckleheads", he said, and pulled the both of them out of the air into a tight bear hug. "I'm glad yer okay. And hey, yer right, those powers o' yours could come in handy. Just think of the money I could make", he joked.
The twins laughed cheerfully.
"Are you feeling any better Grunkle Stan?" Dipper said.
"Yeah, I'm doin' alright", Stan said. "This is still easily the weirdest thing that's ever happened, but so long as the two o' you are still the same little gremlins as always, things'll be fine".
"See, I told you they would be alright Stanley", Ford said. "Now come on, let's head back to the Shack. I'm sure we could all use some refreshments".
"Yeah, sounds good", Stan said hoarsely as he placed the kids back on the ground.
Despite feeling better, Stan couldn't help but worry a little as they walked along. His mind was still in shock over this whole ordeal, and the world didn't feel real at all right now. Still, he was sure that, as with everything else he had dealt with in life, he would adjust to this in time. The kids were alive and safe now, he reminded himself, and that was all that mattered. He smiled. They were going to get through this, the way the Pines family always had.
Later, they were all sat at the kitchen table, plates of spaghetti in front of them.
"Yes, we still have tastebuds", Mabel said, her voice muffled over her first mouthful.
"Or at least some way of tasting", Dipper said. "Still, as long as it's there".
Then he crammed his mouth full of food.
"Do the two of you still feel hunger?" Ford said curiously.
Stan glared at him from across the table. Now wasn't the time to be asking questions, but he left his objections silent, since it seemed that the two of them weren't upset by his interrogations.
"At the moment, yeah", Dipper said. "I mean, it's weird. We're not human anymore, but we still need sleep, especially when we use up too much energy with our powers. And I think I can speak for the both of us with hunger. It feels different to how it did before, but… It's still there. For now".
"Whaddya mean "for now", bro-bro?" Mabel said, cocking an eyebrow.
"Well, I mean, we seemed more powerful today than we were yesterday, right?"
"Uh-huh".
"So I think every day we get a little stronger. I'm thinking maybe eventually we'll be able to survive entirely on, universe energy or something".
"That would make sense", Ford said.
"None of this makes sense, Stanford", Stan grumbled.
"Well, I mean considering that the two of you briefly became deities, it would seem a logical conclusion".
"That's what I figured", Dipper said, shrugging his shoulders. "We'll probably still eat though. I'd miss food".
"Do you think the two of you will ever reach that level of power again?" Ford said.
"We don't know", Mabel said, a shiver going down her spine. "It's kinda scary to think about actually. I mean, we didn't even feel like us at the time".
Stan's fists clenched. That statement was extremely worrying to him, but he didn't want to cause any further upset.
"Yeah, it was… different, to say the least", Dipper said. "I don't remember what it was like, but we could see everything, we knew everything".
"Omniscience", Ford said knowingly.
"Basically, yeah. But I wonder why we went back to normal afterwards. Why didn't we stay like we were?"
"I'm not sure", Ford said. "One would think that you would, but this… this should have been impossible in the first place. It's the grandmaster of anomalies. It's…"
"Ford, could we cut this out for a little while", Stan interrupted.
The other three looked at him. He was still a little out of it.
"Of course", Ford said. "You know what I'm like, too inquisitive for my own good".
Both of them laughed.
"Yeah, you always were a nosey nerd", Stan chuckled.
They strayed away from the topic for now.
Later on in the day, as the evening arrived, Ford passed through the living room. Stan was sat in his armchair, one of the twins curled up on either side of him, all three of them fast asleep as some kind of bizarre show about a tiger with an arm attached to its body played on the TV.
He smiled at the three of them. His brother looked to be sleeping peacefully for the first time since the twins had been taken. Stan had always had a closeness with Dipper and Mabel that he himself had never been able to attain, not even with Dipper. It was true that he had only been here a short while all things considered, but he wondered whether he would ever be as close to the siblings as Stan was.
He continued on his way, heading through to the gift shop and down into the basement. His curiosity was almost consuming him, this was an anomaly like no other. He forced his curiosity away, however. His niece and nephew weren't some kind of creature or experiment, and he refused to treat them as such. Still, it couldn't hurt to take a few notes.
They were only at the beginning of their transformation, who knew what they would eventually be capable of. If they were, as Dipper had said, getting stronger by the day, then would they eventually become as powerful as they were against Bill? Were they still gods, even right at this very moment, even though they were unable to achieve the heights of power that they had before? Perhaps they were simply still adjusting to their new state of being.
He flipped a notebook open and began to write down everything he had learned about them that day. He would have to be careful not to treat them like an experiment, but it would do no harm to learn more about them and their transformation, for their own benefit as much anything. He would never have thought it possible for human beings to transcend the laws of nature and become something so powerful, but then, after all, the multiverse was very prone to throwing surprises at him.
Dipper became distantly aware of the sound of a fountain. Slowly the sound grew louder, and it drew him out of the warm, comfortable darkness in which he lay. He sluggishly cracked open his eyelids, and waited a few moments for his blurred vision to adjust. He saw Mabel lying next to him, her eyes also open.
He tried to speak, but he couldn't. He tried to move, but was only able to slightly readjust himself. He looked long and hard into his twin's eyes, saw her questioning stare. She wasn't able to speak or move either, it would seem. Almost as if they were both asleep. Were they both asleep? Was this just a dream? It couldn't be, could it? He was certain that that was his real sister, not just an imaginary image of her. He didn't know how he could tell, but he was sure it was her.
Dipper slowly managed to roll himself onto his back to get a better look at their surroundings. They were in the middle of a gleaming white courtyard, sunlight beaming down into it. At its centre was a grandiose fountain, the one that had awoken him. He tried to move some more, but was still unable to do anything but roll into different positions.
"Ahh, it would seem our guests have arrived", a smooth, chilling voice drawled.
"Yes, it would certainly seem so sir", another, stiffer voice replied.
Dipper looked into his sister's eyes, and saw a trace of fear in them. He felt a twinge of it himself. He was unsure of what to expect. Then, two figures walked into view. The first was what appeared to be a tall, slender man with straight, black hair, wearing an armless suit with a startlingly white shirt underneath. He was the first that had spoken, Dipper was sure of it.
He looked almost entirely human, apart from the somewhat alarming four pairs of glowing green eyes. The next man that entered their view was even more alarming. His upper half looked entirely human, rotund, with short, combed brown hair and a pitch black suit, but his lower half was effectively a giant centipede body. Dipper tried to keep calm. What did these beings want with them? Were they even real, or just a dream?
"Well, this is surprising", the first man said in his smooth voice, cracking what resembled a warm smile. "Gaston, what do you make of these two?"
Gaston, the centipede man, said,
"They appear quite unremarkable on the surface, sir. It appears that mortals are capable of a lot more than I once suspected if these two little specs were able to attain godhood".
"Indeed", the first man said. "Not at all what I was expecting. Human beings are normally quite the unremarkable species, but perhaps I underestimated them. Greetings to the two of you", he said. "My name, or at least the name that is palatable to formerly human ears such as yours, is Jacques".
Dipper and Mabel stared intently at the bizarre man, wondering just what he was planning to do with them.
"The two of you attracted quite the spot of attention", Jacques said, his unnerving smile remaining. "It would seem that the two of you attained godhood and destroyed the famous Bill Cipher. Good riddance, I say, I was never his biggest fan".
He began to circle them.
"I'm quite impressed", he said. "The two of you achieved what many thought impossible. Even demons such as myself and Gaston here would not be capable of it, and yet you two tiny little mortal specks of carbon made the energy of the multiverse your own. This should be quite impossible, and yet, here you are. The bizarre nature of reality surprises us once again".
He chuckled at his remark.
"Colour me intrigued", he said. "I've brought you here today as mental projections to get a look at just who caused the monstrous energy spike that has created ever such a racket amongst the interdimensional community. I expected elder sentinels, or some other such powerful being, and yet, I am met with two little ex-humans. Astonishing. Yet it seems that as you are at the moment, you are unable to access your power, apart from a tiny little fragment of it. You are, as of this moment in time, nought but fledgling deities, having barely flown the nest of godhood. But I can sense it. I can sense your increasing strength, little by little, earth day by earth day".
A great hunger seemed to loom in those glowing green eyes, and it sent a shiver down Dipper's spine. Next to him, Mabel was looking wild eyed.
"I think for now, I shall keep an eye on you", Jacques said. "You have my interest, little twins. Let's see if you become something a little more worthy of the title deity. The two of you may yet prove to be very useful to me. We may not meet again for a while, but I strongly suspect that a second meeting shall indeed come to pass between us. Perhaps in person next time, too. Ta ta for now, fledglings. Come, Gaston".
And with that, Jacques walked away, the centipede man crawling after him. Dipper was flooded with relief. What he had said had been disturbing, but they were unharmed for now. Dipper looked briefly into Mabel's eyes, saw that she too seemed relieved, then, without warning, he sank back into darkness.
Dipper awoke slowly, his eyes heavy as he opened them. He looked around himself and saw that he was still curled up to Stan in the dimly lit living room, the TV still on. Looking out the windows, he saw that night had fallen. He was confused. He felt certain that he had just had a very vivid, very real dream. Too real almost. And yet, no matter how hard he tried, no memory of the dream would surface. For now, however, he was too tired to care. He closed his eyes, nestled into his uncle once more and fell back into a deep sleep.