What? Flara's updating! How can it be!
Ha, yeah, sorry for the long wait. Life was happening, I've been dealing with some stuff... just not a great month for me (or week really).
A raccoon got into our chicken coop last week and... Well, you can probably guess what happened to my chickens and ducks. But in good news, one survived! So I'm dedicating this chapter to Quackers the duck, who survived a flipping mass murder without a scratch, and is still the sassiest bird I've ever met. Bless her heart.
To guest 1: Yeah man, you're totally right! Mabel's quite vulnerable in this au, and that's something I hope to explore sometime in the future. Thanks for reviewing!
To Erised31: Dude, of course I can post a list of what everybody has transformed into! (at least in this specific fan fiction) You can look for it at the end of the chapter.
To guest 2: The author will appear eventually, but that's all I can say.
To guest 3: I mean, yeah, he's pretty cute. *joins your hug*
To guest 4: First of all, thank you! Second of all, venison is the name for deer meat.
To Crystal Hudson: Of course I'm continuing! Thanks for being bubbly!
To Labam sennip: Sadly, I can't find it anywhere, but thanks for the tip! I'll keep my eyes open for it. And also, BLESS YOUR BEAUTIFUL SOUL, THAT COMMENT MADE MY FLIPPING WEEK.
To FABELHAVEN: I know right?! It's my favorite book series of all time. If you ever want to talk about it, shoot me a message!
God, that was a lot of replies... Whoops! Well, here's the chapter for you guys~
Mabel opened her eyes to darkness.
What...? Mabel thought, twisting her body around. She had enough room to move freely, but her limbs felt numb and detached. And her head...
Mabel went to move a stiff arm to her forehead. Something resisted her moment in the dark, making it feel like she was trapped in a bottle of syrup. When her hands touched her forehead, she could faintly feel a throbbing beneath her skin. Using her hair as a reference point, she traced her skull until she brushed against a large bump. She quickly recoiled.
As she opened her mouth to yelp, a liquid rushed past her lips, filling the cavity. Her hands rushed to her mouth, preventing more water from pouring into her lungs.
Suddenly aware of the wet space around her, Mabel kicked out wildly into the dark. The force around her grew stronger, making her head pound.
I'm going to drown, Mabel thought in a panic. The pressure around her was building still. Her chest felt like it was going to collapse. Mabel continued to beat her legs, reaching out for anything to indicate the direction of the surface.
The air left in her lungs was burning now, begging to be let free. Mabel flailed wildly, feeling for anything other than water.
Please, Mabel pleaded, please no.
The burning sensation was in her whole body now. It was harder to move. With her last bit of strength, Mabel kicked out with a mighty push. And with it, the last last of her breath escaped through her lips. She watched as the bubbles floated away into the darkness. And just as they disappeared, the water forcibly rushed into her. Mabel struggled helplessly as it filled her mouth, then her throat, and into her chest.
"Ahh!" Mabel screamed, bursting through the surface of the bathtub. Panting wildly, she eyed the room.
"Oh, it-it was a nightmare..." she realized aloud. Swimming over to the edge of the tub, Mabel reached onto the counter and switched on the night-light plugged into the wall. A soft orange light illuminated the room.
Grabbing the counter top, Mabel hulled herself up to sit on the edge.
"That was terrible." Mabel moaned. She pushed a lever down on the sink and switched on the faucet. "Why can't I just have normal dreams?"
Taking a calming breath, she rubbed her face with her wrist. Mabel wiped away the gunk from her eyes and brushed her hair out of the way.
"Gugh," Mabel moaned, slumping against the bathroom wall. "Everything is terrible." Her tail flapped against the counter top, covering it in a portion of fishy slime. The sink was about half full now. Mabel extended her arm and switched off the faucet without moving from her spot.
A loud snort sounded from below the counter, making Mabel sit alert.
"Waddles?" Mabel grinned, peering below. Waddles placed his front two hooves on the cabinet and oinked pleadingly. "Aw, come here pudge-butt." Mabel soothed, reaching down for the pig. Waddles oinked as Mabel lifted him up onto the countertop.
"Did you have nightmares too bud?" Mabel asked, holding Waddles up to her face. Waddles oinked loudly and licked her nose. Mabel laughed and set him down beside her. "Yeah, I love you too, sweetie."
Mabel winced as a large crash sounded from outside. Waddles screeched in a high pitch before leaping of the counter and cowering behind the tub.
"What was that?" Mabel wondered aloud. Hmm-ing to herself, she dunked her head unceremoniously into the sink to wet her gills. Then she crawled over to the counter side closest to the door. Reaching out and pulling the door open, she revealed a small, red wagon filled three-quarters to the top with water. Swinging her tail off the counter first, Mabel swung it so it landed in the wagon.
"There we go," Mabel muttered under her breath. Pushing off, the rest of Mabel caught up with her tail in the wagon. "Perfect!" Mabel grinned, "Now where's the rope…?"
She peered over the left side of the wagon, then the right.
"Aha!" She cried out triumphantly. She pulled her torso back into the wagon, holding up a length of rope triumphantly.
"What's with all the noise?"
Mabel turned in surprise, making out the outline of her brother in the dim light coming from the night-light in the bathroom.
"Oh, hey Dipper," Mabel greeted. "How'd you sleep?"
"Not well," Dipper shrugged drowsily. "What are you doing up?"
"Ah..." Mabel shifted uncomfortably for a moment. "Bad dream. And I think I heard something outside." Dipper crossed his arms.
"Aren't you the one who always tells me I'm paranoid for looking outside when I hear something?"
"Yeah," Mabel sighed.
"Just go back asleep Dipper, it's probably just a racoon." Dipper mimicked, moving his hand and fingers in a motion used to make hand puppets speak. "Stop bothering the bats Dipper, they're not vampires. They're not going to steal your blood."
"You get sassy when you're tired." Mabel stated.
"Yeah? Is that so?" Dipper raised his chin defiantly. "Maybe you do too."
"Being sassy isn't an insult Dipper."
"I know." He said courtly. "Why you out in the wagon?" Dipper said quickly, changing the subject.
"I'm going to go exploring," Mabel grinned. "Going to try and see what scared my poor baby."
Dipper trotted forward and leaned into the bathroom, noting Waddle's pink behind sticking out from behind the tub.
"Mind if I tag along?" Dipper asked.
"You're welcome to." Mabel replied. Taking the rope in both hands, she tugged and pulled the wagon forward. The rope raised and tightened, as if it was tied to something in the darkness. Dipper trotted beside her, resting his hand on the side of the wagon.
"So what did you hear anyway?" Dipper asked. "Did you hear even more of our neighbors howling into the night?"
"Not quite," Mabel explained. "I just heard a big boom, you know?"
"Like a crash?"
"No, more like when Grunkle Stan found out that family of opossums that moved into the golf cart."
"Oh," Dipper nodded knowingly. "So like a boom, and a whole bunk of little clunk noises."
"Yeah!" Mabel nodded. "Just like that."
"Interesting... Whatever it is must be near the trash bins." He paused. "Do you think we should wake Soos up? There might be something out there. We could use the muscle." Dipper stated, turning to face Mabel. Mabel raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Don't you remember Soos went home last night? "
"What?! Why?" Dipper exclaimed. "He was all melty!"
"I don't know, I guess he was just worried about Abuelita… worrying about him." Mabel shrugged. Finally the wagon rolled to a stop as the pair came upon the top of the staircase.
She reached out to grab the handrail and begun to heave herself up.
"I guess that makes sense," Dipper muttered. "I bet she already knew anyhow."
"Yeah, no kidding. Remember when we ran into her a Hoo Haw's?" Mabel grinned, elbowing her brother playfully. Mabel's whole body was balanced on the rail now.
"Man, that was creepy," Dipper shuddered.
"Soos' life, is my soap opera." Mabel mimicked as she raised a shaky finger at Dipper.
"Ah, stop it!" Mabel stifled a giggle as Dipper swatted her hand away. Loosening her grip on the rail, she began to slide down to the main floor. Dipper trotted down behind her. When he reached the bottom, Mabel was already lowering herself into another prefilled container of water, although this time it was a small wheeled trolley with a blue tarp laid inside. She picked up another rope and begun to pull the contraption forward.
"When did you have time to build these?"
"Last night," Mabel replied. "Grunkle Stan helped me set 'em up after you went to bed. What do ya think?" She held her arms out in a showy pose. "I-I'm waving my arms if you can't tell. It's pretty dark."
"No, I can tell." Dipper assured her.
"... What?" Mabel asked in a cynical voice. Her arms lowered to her sides.
"Well, it's like I said, I can see you." Dipper shrugged. "I guess it's because deer can see in the dark. Cause they're crepuscular." He grinned proudly and puffed out his chest.
Dipper froze for a moment, realising Mabel couldn't see him in the dark and slapped a hand on his forehead.
Mabel squinted her eyes suspiciously into the dark.
"You didn't really go to bed early last night, did you Dipper?" She continued before Dipper had a chance to answer. "You found a deer book somewhere, didn't you?"
"... Yeah," Dipper admitted. "But hey, check what I found out!" He hurriedly trotted toward his sister and lowered himself in a bow. Mabel shifted uncomfortably as she was unaware what was happening in the dark room.
"Touch my head." Dipper announced with an uncontained amount of giddiness
"Um, ok," Mabel responded and she reached out and rubbed his messy hair.
"Did you feel 'em?"
"Feel what?"
Dipper sighed, exasperated, and reached up and grabbed Mabel's hand.
"Here," He answered, moving Mabel's hand to just above the hair around his forehead. "Do you feel them now?"
Mabel fell silent as her hand brushed over a pair of hard, fuzzy lumps on either side of her brothers head.
"Wait…" Mabel started.
"Yeah?"
"Are those antler stubs?"
"Yeah!" Dipper cheered out in glee. "Aren't they fantastic!"
"That's awesome Dipper!" Mabel congratulated, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. She could feel him shaking with excitement under her touch. "I'm glad you're finally get used to monster thing."
"Ha!" Dipper exclaimed "Heck no, I'm not used to the whole monster thing! My twin sister half fish for crying out loud!"
"But you were-"
"I'm excited about my antlers! I finally have a symbol of my manhood! Try and say I'm not manly now, Chutzpar!"
"Well alright manly man, why don't you pull the trolley." Mabel said, holding the metal handle up with her index finger.
Dipper sighed and took the handle up wordlessly, leading the wheeled contraption through the entryway and out the door.
The moon shone dimly in the sky, just bright enough to illuminate the clearing around the house.
"So where do you think that noise came from?" Dipper asked as he shimmied the trolley down the porch steps.
"Uh," Mabel started, "I'm not quite sure."
"Let's try out back." Dipper suggested.
"Lead the way, fuzzy butt."
"Whatever you say, fish breath." Dipper shot back playfully.
Leading Mabel around the house, the siblings rolled to a stop beside the shack's two trash bins. The pair of metal containers were both knocked over, but only one's innards were spilt on the ground.
"That's weird..." Mabel muttered.
"No kidding," continued Dipper. He bent close the ground, dropping too both front knees and placing his hands on the open trash can. "I don't think whatever this was was trying to get into the trash, see? Most of it is still in the can."
"Like it was knocked over by mistake."
"Exactly." Dipper nodded. "It almost looks like something crashed into it... Here."
Placing both hands on the cylinder, Dipper rolled it over, revealing a large indent spanning half the height of the can.
"Whoa," Mabel breathed. "What do you think could have done that?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe a deer or something? Maybe something magical? I should go get the journal. Maybe it has something..."
Dipper trailed off into silence. Mabel spoke up after several awkward seconds.
"Dipper? You alright bro?"
"Shh," Dipper hushed, waving his arm at Mabel. His ears twitched and perked up as he pushed up off the ground.
"There's something in the woods." He whispered. He stepped forward and pushed the wagon towards the golf cart, which was parked beside where the yard and forest met. "Something big."
Mabel remained quiet and nodded, watching as her brother kept glancing back towards a certain spot in the woods behind them.
"Are you sure this is something bad?" Mabel asked quietly.
"Of course I'm sure!" Dipper aggressively whispered back. "Why wouldn't I be!"
"No, I'm just making sure I'm speaking with 'brother' Dipper and not 'fight or flight deer' Dipper." Mabel assured him, patting his hand softly.
Dipper stayed quiet as he pulled them behind the golf cart. Parking Mabel's trolley behind the first tire, Dipper silently made his way to the opposite tire and laid close to the ground. Mabel followed suit buried herself beneath the water. She poked her head out a moment later.
"Dipper." Mabel whispered.
"What?" Dipper hissed.
"What do you think it is?"
"I'm not sure." He opened his mouth and sniffed. Mabel casually covered her mouth to help suppress her urge to awe at his twitchy nose. "It smells sort of like metal. I just don't get… oh."
"What's 'oh'? Is 'oh' bad?" Mabel asked.
"'Oh' is very bad." Dipper whispered back. "'Oh' is that I can't smell whatever it is because all I can smell is the blood on it."
"'Oh' is very bad." Mabel answered in horror.
"Very bad." Dipper echoed.
Off in the distance, something starting making its way through the underbrush. Both Dipper and Mabel turned away from each and stared off into the woods across the yard. Mabel reached down and closed her hand around Dipper's. Dipper gratefully took it.
Slowly a gray, taloned hand emerged from the woods, stepping down onto the grass like a paw.
"Is that-"
"Shh!" Dipper hushed.
The rest of the creature appeared from the woods, revealing a gray, stone-like texture. Black clothing clung to its skin, torn and ripped along the edges.
"Dipper that's-"
"Mabel, I know."
A small, dead, unrecognizable and furry creature hung from its maw, ripe with sore, red patches naked of hair. The grey creature turned it's head side to side, as if to check if anyone around.
"It's Stanford." Dipper whispered.
"Oh Grunkle Stan," Mabel gasped, covering her mouth.
Stanford stalked on all fours toward the garbage cans. Depositing the strange carcass inside, he got onto his hind legs and set the cans back in place. His glasses were missing and his hair was windblown back, but he seemed relatively fine. He muttered something to himself and leaned against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"What's he saying?" Mabel asked.
"I don't know! Maybe if I just-" Dipper let go of Mabel's hand and began to rearrange himself, jerkily moving each hoof one at a time. When his front hoof kicked out, it slid across the ground and slammed into the golf cart.
Stanford's attention immediately turned towards the twins.
"Who's there?!" Stanford demanded, marching away from the wall with his fist clenched. Dipper and Mabel froze. "I know you're there, ya flea face!"
Waiting for a response and getting none, Stanford spread his wings and took off, landing on the golf cart. With his teeth pulled back in a snarl, he lunged, only to freeze in front on Mabel's face.
"...Mabel? Dipper?" Stanford asked, quickly using his outstretched arm to cover where blood had collected below his lips. "What are you two doing out here?"
Dipper remained frozen, as if every muscle in his body had locked. Mabel looked up at him with tears welling up in her eyes.
"Stan…?" Mabel whispered through a cracking voice.
"Look, Mabel, it's not what it looks like sweetie-" Stanford started. He reached out towards the kids, only to have Dipper spring back to life. Grabbing Mabel from the trolley and swinging her onto his back, Dipper scrambled into the woods as Stanford's hand reached where the pair were hiding seconds before.
"No, Dipper, wait!" Stanford pleaded, meeting his nephew's eyes. Dipper looked at him long enough for Stan to see his glazed over expression, much like a deer in the headlights, before he fled into the forest with Mabel clinging tightly to his back.
"Kids!"
A/N
Hey, look, the end of the chapter! Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger, but I promise to update within the next two weeks.
And as promised, here's a list of monsters you'll be seeing in this FF (feel free to skip this if you wish to remain spoiler free, not that I'm naming any transformations if they are major spoilers)
NOTE! These are all subject to change.
Dipper- Cervitaur
Mabel- Mermaid
Stanford (not author)- Gargoyle
Wendy- Werewolf
Wendy's brothers- Manticore, Werewolf, Manotaur
Dan- Manotaur
Soos- Clay golem
Robbie- Zombie
Thompson- Satyr
Tambry- Tree nymph
Lee- Ice golem
Nate- Is it a werecat? I'm basing him off a picture done by genalovestoons i believe, but I can't find it...
Pacifica- Gorgon
Pacifica's mom- Harpy
UNDECIDED
Preston
Candy
Grenda
Lazy susan
Toby
Tyler
*cough* feel free to add an oc and monster (or not and I'll decide for you) in the comments. I may need some background characters in the future.