Chapter 3
Dipper awoke with the same scream he had when he was falling. He had no idea how long he was out, and all perception of time and space itself had begun to leave him. Rather than the empty wilderness of fog where the caretaker had brought him before, he found himself on familiar ground; it was the same Dreamscape that he had been seen within Stan's mind. It had the same monochromatic haze, eerie quiet, the mist, the litany twisted doors down the barren hallway, and, most disturbingly, pictures on the wall, only without any faces. What was very noticeable was how compact it was, as it stretched straight ahead for an uncomfortably long period, with many twisted junctions along the route. The hallway was very narrow, beset with doors on both sides, and a grand door at the end, fit for a mansion. Looking behind him, Dipper could see that there was nothing but a dead-end. It looked like his only way out was through one of these doors. Lastly, he had no idea whose mind it was. His own? Mabel's? Eve's?
Eve was true to her word, and was nowhere to be seen. Dipper felt an unbearable sense of isolation, dejection, and abandonment within him. To say he lacked motivation was too hopeful, for he was now wrestling with entirely non-selfish reasons to stay. The first was that his sister had told him she wanted him to stay with her, and Dipper knew that it was the only way to stay together, something that meant a lot to him. Mabel was the emotional rock of his life, as he was for her. They worked and played together as long as they could remember, and everyone, friends and teachers, all remarked with shock at how well they got along. Mabel was always there for him when he felt down, when others who should have were not. He thought bitterly about how he had started this mess by accepting Great Uncle Ford's intern-ship; where the hell was that in the Labyrinth of pleasure constructed just for him?
The second new reason to stay was simple; fear. He had been lost in the adrenaline of recent moments, but in the bleakness of the Bubble, he had come to realise the magnitude of what was happening; it was done, it was all over. The world was finished, and everyone was going to die. There was no way to stop Bill now, and everyone would pay the price. If the whole world couldn't stop him, how could some pathetic 12 year old boy? But then, the most bone-chilling thought of all ran through his head; he did this. He had made this happen, by not looking after what Ford said to look after. The strength in his limbs failed him, and he grabbed his hair so intensely he nearly pulled it out; he was coming to despise each and every part of himself. The emotional torment of the Bubble drove him to near insanity. He was entering a stage of total emotional devastation.
"I'm the worst person in the world," he whimpered, and this time, there was no Mabel to help him.
All was going exactly to plan.
One of the doors just was beside him on his left, somewhat ajar, and in the crack, giving off a stupendous light. Dipper could hear a crescendo of applause building behind it, and yet, it sounded oddly familiar. He stumbled to his feet, the mystery enough to distract his turmoil, and put his hand to it, slowly peeling the door back, as the applause rushed into the hallway. He saw nothing behind the blinding light, but walked into it anyway, seeing nothing for him in the bleakness of the hallway. As his second foot met the first on the other side, the world faded into existence, and Dipper recognized it immediately; it was the school stage back in Piedmont. The blinding light had gone, replaced by the natural lighting of the windows of the assembly hall. None of the half-faded adults in the substantial crowd, or any of the large amounts of kids in the first three rows before him seemed one seemed to notice him, and continued clapping for this other person on the stage, a little kid beside an appropriately levelled microphone. Dipper slowly walked to the front of the stage, safe in the knowledge he was undetected, and tried to see the face of whomever was there with him, who was now himself shielding his eyes with one hand, and looking over the audience, as if he was searching for someone. Before Dipper even got close to him, he could see the outline of his old brown hat, and, in an existential chill, he realized that it was himself. Briefly stopping to collect his thoughts, he rushed up to the front to get a glimpse of his own younger face. It was all there, from the blotchy nose to the baggy eyes, but his expression was telling its own story. He had a smile, but it was slowly draining from his face, and it was slowly replaced by a desperate anxiousness, as it glanced around every corner of the crowd, and twice over. Finally, the younger he frowned, and his hand fell down to his side in dejection.
His lip quivered, and he muttered so quietly that no one would hear him. "Mom, dad…you said you'd be here…"
The shock of this memory triggered a violent, painful reaction in Dipper's mind, as all the painful recollections of that day came flooding back. He ran back to where he entered, and slammed the door tightly behind him, holding his weight against it, as if it could keep the memories out. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, with a thousand emotions surging in uncontrollable directions. As he looked ahead, he saw the nearby door on the other side of the room was open too. He debated within himself to see what was through it, but felt a bizarre, burning passion within him to find out.
Slowly releasing his grip on the door behind, he moved towards its opposite number. As he creaked the door back, and shielded his eyes from the light, he once again saw the new world materialize around him. It was a forest, lit by the moonlight, and alive with the sound of birds and crickets. Ten feet in front of Dipper. in the dirty open of a clearing, the embers of a dead camp-fire filled the air with a smoky haze, and two tents were to be seen on either side of it. Both were illuminated within, but the one on the right had a discussion inside to go with it, though the words could not be distinguished. Dipper was desperate for answers, and crept methodically towards this conversation. As he got closer, he could see the outline of a boy's head through the translucent sheet. He didn't need to know anything else; he already knew it was him. Furthermore, he already knew that this was that same camping trip that Mabel and he were talking about earlier. A large part of him screamed to go back through the door, but a perverted curiosity kept him going. As he looked at his own doppelganger's silhouette, he could see the neurotic, and anxious arm movements that confirmed his own presence. Yet despite preparing for the memory to return, it hurt him deeply to hear it play out again.
"I-I'm sorry," he heard his younger self say, "I was trying to find-."
A voice that was at once familiar yet a stranger was heard within the tent, and cut him off with a harsh, piercing tone. "Dipper," said the voice of his father, "Do you know how much work I could have done in the time we spent here? You know, that thing that puts food on the table? Me and your mother work all day, just so you can put clothes on your backs, so you can be a little more thankful that I spent even a day out here, crawling with insects, while you chased a fake monster. Go sleep in your sister's tent tonight, and take your sleeping bag."
There was a long pause, broken only by a sigh of rejection. "Okay, dad," came the joyless reply.
As the younger Dipper reluctantly fulfilled his father's orders, and began to pack his belongings to go to the other tent, the Dipper of the present day cringed and tensed at the awful sensations being relived. He could see his younger person crawl out, bag over his back, making a slow march towards his sister's tent. His face had the crumpled look of embarrassment, fear, and deep-seated sorrow. As his younger self drew near to the tent, Dipper could see Mabel's head begin to emerge from the crevice. After seeing her brother in such a state, she leapt out and to her feet, pacing towards him.
"Dipper?" she asked. "What's the matter?"
Younger Dipper dropped the bag in the dirt, and refused to lift his head. Mabel stared in confusion, and put her hand over her brother's shoulder.
Mabel was confused. "Why are you taking your sleeping b-" she began, before stopping when she understood what had happened. Her face turned to a depressed frown, and tried to look her brother in the eyes.
"Dipper, listen to me, it's not your fault."
Even though his head was tilted, she could still discern the burning streams down his face. He lifted his head slowly, and meekly asked the only thing going through his mind: "How come he doesn't he love us, Mabel?"
She had no reply other than an immediate, and warm hug; her brother responded in kind.
The older Dipper was ripped asunder by regret. He wanted to jump into his dad's tent and try to grab him, and ask him what possessed him to kick out his own son from the tent into the night. He wanted to run into the forest and disappear. He wanted to tell his younger self not to listen to his dad, and to thank his sister for always being there for him. Nothing, however, could truly convince him of any course of action. He slowly walked back to the door, leaving once last glimpse of a fonder memory, the love of his sister, and walked back through.
Closing the door behind him, he sighed under the emotional baggage he had undergone on this whole adventure. He was exhausted in both mind and body, and didn't feel like there was anything left to give. As he turned around, he saw two feet on the floor that weren't his. He leapt backwards in shock against the door. His face rushed to meet the eyes of whoever it was; it was Eve. Despite being so cold and menacing to him before, he was glad to see her, and at once, a rush of relief surged through his senses.
"Eve! Oh, am I glad to see you!" Dipper sighed, under the duress of traumatic bonding.
Eve had returned to her warm smiling, as if none of what had happened with Mabel had ever transpired. "Thanks Dipper. Sorry about sending you here, but I think you can see that you needed to see those things alone. Now can you guess what was behind that door back when you first met Mabel here?"
Dipper frowned. "Yeah," he replied, too hurt to continue this train of thought.
"They did it all, Dipper," said Eve. "Everything about you. Every little piece of you comes from making up for your parents' neglect. They were why you and your sister bonded so much. Your parents were never there for you in the good times or the bad, but you and Mabel always were. Your parents never showed you an iota's worth of the love Mabel had for you. Who was there at your Spelling Bee? Mabel. Who taught you how to have social skills? Mabel. Who always cared about what you liked, what you did, and how you were doing? Mabel. She wasn't just your sister; she was your mother and your father in one. Take a look around you Dipper. Do you see all these doors? Each is a memory of your parents failing to live up to their basic duties."
Dipper glanced around slowly, and realized, to his sadness, that he couldn't count all the doors.
"Your parents are why you always worked so hard in school. You always asked yourself why Mabel showed you more love than your parents, so you came to the conclusion that if you could impress them academically, they'd give you the same appreciation that she gave you. You studied all night, worked hard every single day in school, completed every piece of homework, and you thought they'd come into your life. But they never did.
"Why did you think they hated you? Oh yes, you worked that one out a while ago. You couldn't understand how anyone could purposefully have kids, and then neglect them. So you came up with a theory; they never expected twins, and when they did, they just pushed the pair of you to the sidelines, because they couldn't handle two. And since you were the younger twin, you got the brunt of the blame. Sure, your father's a workaholic, and mother's always out with friends, but that thought never left you once it entered.
"And you have thought about it. Every day you've been here, in Gravity Falls, you've thought about it. Why? It sums up what they feel about you. You and Mabel were exiled to the middle of nowhere, for a whole summer, while they got to do whatever they wanted. They left you in the tender mercies of a con-man, to move inventory. No visits, no letters, no telephone calls, nothing. While all the other kids at school got to go with their parents to wherever they wanted, your parents wanted nothing to do with you."
She began to walk towards the end of the hall, and Dipper tagged along, devouring every word of her sermon as gospel, and accepting it without resistance, the will for such having left him.
"And that's why you wanted to be an adult too. You wanted to get out of the pain of being the weak one, to be the one in charge for once. You wanted people to like you because you were never well-liked yourself, and every compliment became the world to you. You've been desperate to prove yourself to them, to win them over, so you imagine yourself discovering monsters, becoming world-famous on account of your discoveries, all to show your parents up. Not one desire you have doesn't stem from the travesty of your upbringing.
"Dipper Pines, what your parents did to you was not normal, and no child should ever suffer from the failure of the people who should care about them most. It's not fair that a child as smart, and talented as you was saddled with such people. We're going to make it right."
As her conversation ended, the pair had reached the end of the hallway, and the grand door loomed ominously before them. Dipper, despite his exhaustion, stared at it in anticipation, not knowing what would happen next. Then, he heard the creaking of wood, and the door pulled itself back slowly, with a blinding light enveloping both Eve and Dipper. Dipper shielded his eyes, enough to discern two adult silhouettes cautiously walking into the hallway. Dipper knew at once it was his parents, but was so emotionally broken that he couldn't raise any reaction. He just stared tiredly, and awaited what came next.
There was his dad, the same colour of hair as Dipper, though curlier, and obviously thinning. He wore spectacles that hadn't the smallest scratch on them; Dipper's father had always been very precise about his glasses, and preserved them with his life. His face was clearly worn and world-weary. He wore the same suit he always wore to work, and Dipper could never remember him dressed for anything else. That degrading red bowtie, eternally pristine white shirt, and belt holstering up pants that were clearly too big for him. His glance was forlorn, and he held himself with total shame, shuffling slowly in front of his son. Trailing behind was his mother, dressed in that accursed pink dress she wore all the time, that signified she was going out with her work friends for the night. Her hair was all done, her heels were on, just like she was about to have another night on the town. She held the same look of self-loathing that her husband had, and trotted beside him.
Dipper stared at his parents. Normally, despite all the highs and lows he went through with them, he would have been pleased to see them. However, after seeing his worst memories played out in agonizing detail before him, and the revelations of what Eve had said to him, he felt an indifferent emptiness within him. Because of this, he refused to make the next move. Eve could feel it, and stepped back from the three.
S-Son," began Dipper's father, in a voice that was felt more than heard, "There's no other way of saying it; I'm sorry. I know you're mad at yourself, and you hate yourself right now, but listen to me, none of this is your fault. I shouldn't have put work in front of you all my life. I missed so many things that I wanted to be a part of, but I kept getting held back by life. But, you know, I've come to realise you are my life. You're my legacy, my namesake. And I've let you down."
He began to get teary-eyed, and was too ashamed to lift his head. "I want you to know, no matter if you believe it or not, I love you. And from here, right now, I'm never going to let you or your sister be second place in my life again. We can go on a camping trip like you wanted. You name it, wherever, whenever. I just want to spend time with my own son."
He stepped back, too emotional to continue. Dipper's mother looked worriedly at her husband, clearly not ready to face her child, but she awkwardly stepped up to the plate, and confessed.
"We…really don't deserve you Dipper. You've always been a nice kid. You never got in trouble, you always did great in school, and you were always kind to your sister. Now, I know I spent…so much time with my friends from work, and I never really spent much time with you. I now understand that…you didn't have those things. You didn't have all that many friends in school, and you were lonely. And I'm a horrible mother for having neglected you like that. I understand if you hate me, and if I were you, I'd probably hate me too. Please Dipper," she said as she broke down, "I want a second chance!"
Dipper looked to the pleading eyes of his mother, and the shame of his father, who couldn't even bring himself to face him. Dipper had wanted to hear this speech for at almost half of his life, but it did not make him feel better. He imagined a feeling of bliss would enrapture him, but instead, he felt a rising tide of bitterness escalate within his body. He began to tremble, and clenched his fists. The pent-up, ruthless rage that had accumulated with every slight, every missed event, every cold and lonely night, burst with volcanic fury.
"If you didn't have the time to take care of us, why were we born!? Huh!? Why did we get along with babysitters better than you!? They were in our lives more than you were! While all Mabel's friends went to Paris, and Rome, with their parents, our parents kick us out like garbage to the middle of nowhere, so you can go to your lousy parties, and you can work in a job you love more than your own kids! Well, you know what!? Some day I'm gonna have kids! Yeah, you're probably laughing that I'll ever even get a girlfriend, but I'm gonna get a degree, leave Piedmont forever, and then I'll be appreciated by people who love me, and not just because it fits in their crummy schedule! And you know what I'll do when I'm a parent!? I'm gonna take my kids out on adventures, teach them to ride a bike, and always show up at the school plays, because I will make damned sure that I'll be a better parent than both of you put together!"
When he stopped, everyone became aware of the eerie quiet in the room. Dipper's anger had left him, and most of his energy too, not having the strength to say one word more. He could already see he had done his damage; both of his parents had begun to cry, and neither had any comeback to a sentence he spoke. Dipper did not expect this, but he felt a sudden surge of empathy, and turned away from their suffering. He wanted to say he hated his parents, but he didn't. He wanted them to understand how he felt, and he got that, but he realized this was more than he asked for. He did not like their pain, yet he was not sorry for one word he had said.
As he calculated what to say next, he heard the familiar voice of Eve just behind him. "Dipper, please, you have to accept them."
"What? And give in? Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" he asked, with a false bravado, the remnant of his rant, to inflate the will he knew was no longer there.
"No one's judging you. You are a twelve-year-old boy, trying to fight a demon older than this Universe has existed. He has taken physical form, and there's nothing you can do now."
The dormant feelings reawakened, and a cloud covered his mind. "This is all my fault…" Dipper shuddered, as Depression and self-hatred began to devour him.
"No!" came a voice from behind him; it was his father. "Don't blame yourself, Dipper! Bill is the only one to blame. My boy is innocent. He is smart, kind, and brilliant! And I couldn't be prouder to have him for a son!"
Dipper stared in bewilderment; his own father had never said something like that about him. He found, even now, an unbreakable familial connection start to form, ensnaring him down the road of temptation. "Y-you mean it?"
"Yes, of course! You're doing things I could never have dreamt of doing when I was a kid! I'd always brag about you in the office about how you were always so smart, but I never gave you the appreciation you deserve. I want to make up for that. Please son! I want to love you!"
Every thought in Dipper's head told him to give up. His mind ached, as he struggled to remember his motivation. He collapsed against the wall. "This isn't real, this isn't real…" he repeated to himself, to try and stem the strength evaporating from his soul, but to no avail.
"Your sister is real, Dipper. And it could never be her dream world without you." said Eve, with a rocky determination in her voice. "And the last thing she wants is for the person she loves more than anything on Earth to get himself killed by taking on something that can't be beat."
She was moving in for the kill. "The world has always been an awful place for you Dipper. You were bullied in school for having a birthmark, you never had any friends, and your own parents were never in your life. But here, in the Bubble, it all goes away. Hate will turn to love, foes to friends, and 'misery' and 'suffering' will be words to be forgotten. Do it for yourself, for your sister, for the parents you deserved to have."
The spectrum of emotions ran across Dipper's mind, and the cold sweats broke out all over his pale skin. He felt every morsel of resolve crumble under the carpet bombing of manipulation the Bubble had pulled on him, and it didn't stop. All his arrogance at the start has proven wrong; he was doomed the whole time. He felt his will fading, and on it faded…until it had gone.
His pupils dilated, and he felt a mountain's worth of weight lift off his shoulders. His feet felt lighter, like a puppet on a string. He immediately felt the change, that all his cares had burned away, and that he was truly special, and appreciated for once in his life. He was unfamiliar to this euphoria, but reveled in it.
"Mom! Dad!" he called out in joyous ovation.
The pair turned around breathlessly. "Yes son? What is it?" asked Dipper's anxious father.
He looked at his father in the eyes. He was proud at the man he called 'dad', and couldn't love him any more if he tried. And he looked at his mother, and thought that he was the luckiest boy in the world to have her. "Can we go on that camping trip, together, please?"
His father's jaw dropped underneath his sharp intake of breath, the result of his relief. Dipper's mother put her hand to weary, but lifted heart. Father ran to son, and skidded along his knees to reach him, like his life depended on it. He hugged his son with more affection than at any time Dipper could remember; it felt just like Mabel's hugs. Soon his mother joined in, and all of them let this moment sink in. In that moment, there was nothing but the three of them, and they were all crying uncontrollably, over thirteen lost years, and the hope of many more to make good. It was the first time Dipper had ever truly felt that his parents loved him, and it was the most magical feeling that ever crossed his body. Dreams, it seemed, did come true.
"I broke him, sir."
"You mean Pine-Tree?
"Indeed."
"Ha! How long did he hang in?"
"He was resistant to me at first, but I made quite sure that he wasn't going to leave. He gave a spirited defence, for such a futile endeavor."
"So ya made a bet that if he could make his way through it, you'd hand over Shooting Star? High stakes player, huh?"
"Nonsense, he could never win, not if mommy and daddy told him to give up. He thought he could beat me, the idiot. He's my little puppet now. I must say, it was quite exhilarating to crush that temerity of his."
"How're ol' Red and Question Mark hanging in?"
"They've been dealt with; easy meat, like the Pines sister. Now I'm stuck with these four until you get around to dealing with them. How long will it take for you to finish this dimension off?"
"Ha, ha! Yeah, Eve, about that…looks like we've kinda run into a snag, so you're gonna have to look after them for a little longer. Can ya do that for me, doll?"
"We've waited billions of years for this; a few more days is nothing. Once they fall under my influence, they can't come back. I guess I can take it easy. The boy's 'parents' are his ideal; he'd jump of a cliff if they said so. Won't do him much good when you show up, of course, sir."
QR PDQ NQRZV KRZ EDG KH LV WLOO KH KDV WULHG YHUB KDUG WR EH JRRG
