There was not a sound in the air. The wind and thunder had stopped. Everyone that had been around Dipper just seconds ago was gone. Only Stan's knife remained, as well as the dark clouds in the sky, but Dipper did not go to pick it up. He simply stood in place, silent.
Mabel… he thought. I'm so sorry. But she was gone too. He wanted her to come back, but he knew she wouldn't. Then, after a full minute of standing in silence, Dipper realized something. Wait, why am I not waking up? Mabel just killed the dream demon, but I'm still stuck here. He had no idea why. And without Mabel, he also didn't know what he should do. Not only because of her ability to manipulate the dream and supposedly end it, but because he had always relied on her support. Now that he was stranded here by himself, he couldn't think of any ideas. Mabel had always been the one to lighten the mood, and now that she was gone, he was scared.
Dipper looked over at the knife, which was still planted perfectly upright in the ground. Stupid thing, he thought. The trap Mabel had triggered when she attempted to pull it out was what had led to all this. How did we not realize something was wrong when we saw it like that? We should have… Dipper stopped thinking when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. A hundred possibilities as to who it could be flashed through his mind in the second it took to turn around, not the least significant of which being Mabel, even though she was probably also the least likely. It's the demon!, he thought, one of the orange guys! He was wrong. It was Tyrone.
"Dipper, what did you just do!?", Tyrone asked, sounding shocked. "Your whole mind just went crazy! I felt a huge increase in the demon's presence, then it just… went away, before reappearing again. It's not dead, but it seems like you hurt it, bad. It's grip on your brain has slipped enough to the point where I could appear in person and talk to you here."
Dipper didn't respond.
"Wait, where's Mabel at?", Tyrone asked after a glance around.
"She left", Dipper answered. "And I don't think she'll be back any time soon."
"What do you mean she left? What happened to her?"
"The demon trapped us when we tried to get the knife", Dipper began. "It tried convincing Mabel that I didn't care about her to make her stop helping me, and I said something really stupid before she blasted it with her powers and left."
Tyrone looked over at the knife. As if by magic, the blade flew up out of the ground and into Tyrone's hand. "Well, at least I can help you now instead. Let's just get back down to the box and activate the portal so we can end this. I know I told you before that Mabel would be the one to kill it, but now that she's weakened it for us I should be able to finish it myself. We just need to move fast before it heals."
Dipper looked up at Tyrone. "But what about Mabel?"
"Forget about Mabel!", Tyrone answered. "If she left on her own she's not coming back unless she wants to. And like I said, we don't need her anymore. You want to get out of this nightmare, right?"
Dipper thought for a second and sighed. "Yeah. I guess, but I feel bad about just leaving her like that."
"She's the one who left you, Dipper. Come on, it's time to go wake us up", Tyrone ordered before walking towards the mountain. Dipper continued standing for a few seconds, but eventually followed. Tyrone's probably right, he thought. Somewhere out there, the real Mabel is going through the same thing I am. I need to wake up so I can help her. He walked a little faster, and soon entered the mountain.
The second Dipper stepped through the entrance, a dizzying sensation struck without warning. When he recovered and opened his eyes, the cavern that had once been empty was now full of trees, and the stone walls seemed to be almost transparent. He thought he could make out the glow of the moon through one particular area on his left.
"Uh, Tyrone? What happened in here?"
"Hitting the demon as hard as you did had quite an effect, as I said", he responded. "You're in a forest in the real world, right? Well, this is it. You've already started regaining some consciousness, we just need to finish the job and wake you up for good. Let's just hope we can still find that tunnel."
"It should be over this way, I think I can find it", Dipper said. The dizziness returned shortly after. He had to look down at the newly present dirt and wait it out, and when he looked back up he almost screamed. "Tyrone! Orange guys coming at us!" There were indeed about five of the figures stepping out from behind the trees, preparing to attack.
"Don't worry, I got this", Tyrone casually replied. He raised his hand, and five bolts of electricity, one for each figure, left his fingers and struck their assailants. They all died after a quick succession of short pops.
"Oh… nice one", Dipper said, still recovering from his initial shock.
"Thanks", Tyrone responded. "Let's just keep going for our tunnel."
Dipper and Tyrone picked up the pace. They soon found the staircase that led down into the purple dome, but it was blocked. Dirt had filled in the space below.
"Don't freak out, Dipper. I can clear this up", Tyrone declared when he saw Dipper preparing to speak. Once again, Tyrone lifted his hand, and the dirt simply dissolved into a small puddle of mud at the bottom of the stairs with a hisssss. He and Dipper then entered. The door opened as Tyrone approached, and he led the way into the dome.
"There's our ticket out", Tyrone said upon seeing the black box in the middle of the room. "Once I stick this knife in there, the portal will open and send us to where the monster is hiding. After I kill it you'll need to find Mabel and free her with that spell from the Journal fast. This one's not the only one of it's kind in this forest, and I wouldn't want you to just get possessed again."
"What about Stan?", Dipper asked after suddenly having a thought. "You think he might have gotten possessed too?"
"Nah", Tyrone answered. "Unless he left the campsite he's probably fine. Your spot wasn't deep enough in the forest. And that's good news for you, because believe me: even though you're technically sleeping you are sure not gonna feel well rested when you wake up. Easier to just spend the night in the tent you already pitched rather than have to drive back to the shack or set up a new site somewhere else."
Tyrone flipped the knife around in his hand. "Just stay down while I do the fighting", he requested before raising the blade above his head. "Unlike last time, it's prepared for a confrontation. Things might get a little rough."
Tyrone thrust the metal blade into the box. The purple roof of the dome lit up, and Dipper and Tyrone were consumed in an overwhelming white light.