Dipper sat up in his bed, he'd been awake for a short while now and finally his boredom had got the best of him. He didn't know what made him wake up, he couldn't remember any of his dreams and the shack had been almost dead silent. He glanced over at Mabel who was fast asleep. He smiled, it was nice to see her getting some decent rest. Dipper got out of bed and crossed the room, he pulled Mabel's cover over her as it had slipped off her during the night, and planted a kiss on her forehead. Dipper had always felt an instinctive urge to protect Mabel, maybe she felt it towards him as well, maybe she didn't. Dipper crept across the room making sure not to wake his sister then silently slipped through the door, making his way downstairs.
Dipper walked through the living room, the remains of their Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons game were still scattered throughout the room. He carefully avoided standing on anything and made his way to where he and Ford had left their bags before the game began. He rummaged around in one of the bags and pulled out a chocolate bar. He'd taken it with him when they went to the statue but had never actually eaten it so as he was up and a little peckish he decided he might as well have it now. He pulled the wrapper off, placing it back in the bag. He'd put it in the bin tomorrow, it was so dark he couldn't even read the wrapper, so fumbling around trying to find the bin in the dark wasn't really his idea of fun. Sure, he could turn the light on but for some reason, he decided that it was best to leave the lights off, just in case. He looked down at the game as he took a bit from the chocolate. It had easily been the best game of Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons that he had ever played in his life, for many reasons. Sure, it hadn't been the most 'correct' or even the most advanced campaign that he'd ever played, but it was by far the most interesting! The weird and wonderful thing that Mabel and Stan had come up with had ranged throughout the game from adorable to funny to outright terrifying. But even more than that, the campaign held a special place in his heart because it was created by Mabel and Stan. Neither of them had ever had even the slightest amount of interest in the game, yet they sat down and spent most of their day learning the rules and how the game worked so that they could make a campaign so that they could play with him and Ford when they got back. After a while Dipper stood up, he walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water before heading back upstairs.
As Dipper tried to enter the attic, he tripped over something that had been left on the floor, he couldn't see what it was, not that it mattered, he was still falling anyway. He hit the floor with a thump closely followed by his glass of water which smashed as it collided with the old, wooden planks, sending water and shards of glass everywhere. The sound woke Mabel and she instantly rushed to her brother's side. "Dipper, are you ok?" She asked worriedly, she was on high alert, it was as if she'd never been asleep at all, but that was probably just due to the shot of adrenaline her body gave her when she realised that Dipper could be hurt.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Dipper snapped, he was suddenly really angry with himself for being such a clutz and waking his sister, but also with Mabel for waking up and for being so up in his face.
"Do you need any help?" Mabel offered, ignoring how he'd snapped at her. "I could get you another gla-" She was cut off by Dipper before she could finish.
"Dammit Mabel, I said I was fine!" Dipper shouted.
"O-ok..." Mabel said, slowly backing away from her brother. She was confused, she knew he didn't like the feeling of being vulnerable, that he always wanted to be able to prove himself and that he often acted strangely when he was running low on sleep, but his sudden temper had caught her completely off guard.
"I am capable of taking care of myself you know!" Dipper informed her as he stood up and stared down at her. "Or do you just think that I'm weak and pathetic? Look, Mabel, I don't need you to rush to my side every time I stub my toe or trip over, I'm capable of taking care of myself!"
"I never thought that you weren't..." Mabel replied timidly, slowly getting up to her feet. Dipper was starting to scare her, what had come over him?
"Don't lie Mabel, you've been so caught up if your 'Alpha Twin' shit that you've forgotten that we're twins! Do you know what that means? It means we're the same age! So get off your high horse for once!" Mabel didn't know how to respond, Dipper never swore, she'd only ever seen him swear once or twice, and every time he was talking to someone he hated.
"Dip-" Mabel was about to speak but was swiftly cut off.
"No!" Dipper shouted over Mabel. Then, before either of them could react, he slapped her. There was a moment of silence, the sound of Dipper's hand colliding with Mabel's cheek stayed in the air for a moment, ringing in their ears. Mabel clutched her cheek, her eyes watering, partially from the stinging the slap had left on her cheek, and part from the stinging in her chest. Had she pushed him to the point where he hated her already?
"I-I guess I'll leave then..." Mabel whispered, trying not to let her pain show through her voice. She grabbed her backpack and walked out of the room. Dipper watched her leave before climbing into bed.
Mabel walked away from the mystery shack, she needed some space to clear her mind and just mull everything over. Besides, there was no way she was going back to sleep now. She's pulled on one of her sweaters a skirt, socks, shoes and then she just left. The throbbing in her cheek was a persistent reminder of what had just happened. With each step, she became increasingly aware of a sharp pain in her knee she looked down to see a gash in her knee which was dripping blood down her leg, how had she not noticed it before? She must have knelt on a shard of glass while trying to help Dipper. She knew that she should probably cover it with something but she didn't have anything suitable with her, plus she loved the sweater that she was wearing too much to risk it being stained with her blood, it was the one with a shooting star on the front. She could tend to her wound once she returned to the shack, she wasn't intending to be out for long, just long enough to calm down a little, then she'd probably curl up and fall asleep on the chair in the living room. After a while, Mabel stopped walking. She sat down on a rock, buried her face in her hands and cried.
How long she stayed like that, she couldn't tell. Minutes? Hours? Either way, she only looked up because she's run out of tears to cry. She sniffed and thought back on what had happened. Dipper had been acting really weird, but maybe it was just because he'd grown to hate her. But still, the only time she'd ever seen him act anything like this was when... Mabel stood up suddenly as a feeling of dread watched over her. It couldn't be, could it? Bill was dead, right? And even if he wasn't, Dipper wouldn't have made any kind of deal with him, let alone allow him to use his body, right? But still, it would explain everything, the anger, the violence, even why he fell over in the first place, Bill never did seem to quite get the hand of controlling other people's bodies. Even if that's not what happened, Mabel had to be sure, there was a chance that Dipper was in danger and she'd just spent the past however long crying to herself like a baby! She'd been so selfish! "I'm sorry Dipper..." She mumbled to herself before grabbing her bag and sprinting in the direction of the Mystery Shack. She had to be quick, every second she took was one more second that Dipper could be in trouble.
Mabel ran and ran, not even stopping for breath. It was really dark and almost impossible to see, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She ran faster than she'd ever run before until 'Smack!' Something hard smashed into her forehead, knocking her to the floor. She felt dazed and had no control over her body. A few moments later she lost her grasp on consciousness and passed out.
"Morning Mabel!" Dipper said cheerily as he sat up, stretching and letting out a yawn. When there was no reply he looked over to Mabel's bed, she was usually up before him so the silence made him feel a little uneasy. Her cover was a mess and she was nowhere to be seen. 'Maybe she went downstairs already?' Dipper thought to himself. He was about to get out of bed when he noticed the mess on the floor. He remembered tripping over on his way back into the room. His eyes followed the water towards where he'd fallen, as he did the water grew darker and darker until he spotted something that made his stomach turn. One of the shards was coated red with blood and the surrounding water was also dyed the same red hue. He knew that he hadn't cut himself, but checked over his body anyway. He was completely fine, not a scratch on him. That must mean... "Mabel!" He shouted, launching himself out of bed and over the glass. He safely landed by the door, having lept over all of the glass. He bolted downstairs into the living room where Stan was sat watching the TV, surrounded by the remains of Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons. "Grunkle Stan, have you seen Mabel?" Dipper asked worriedly.
"No, I assumed she was still in bed," Stan replied casually, but when he saw the look on Dipper's face he started to become concerned. Dipper thought back to last night, he couldn't remember what had happened after he tripped. He thought hard, and then it hit him like a truck. "Oh my god!" He exclaimed.
"What is it, kid?" Stan asked, looking at Dipper.
"We need to go find Mabel!" Dipper replied. "This is all my fault!"
I don't really have anything to add to this one, nothing that I can add without giving spoilers anyway, so I won't other than my usual thanks!
So once again, thankyou for reading!
