Falling Star

The Sun was coming up by the time Dipper got back to the Mystery Shack. He parked close to the building and turned the car off. Before getting out, he made sure the gloves he had worn earlier were put away in the duffel bag in the back seat, and removed his hoodie, which was covered in blood as it usually was every night. He left that in the bag as well, and checked the shirt he was wearing underneath. It was clean, but his pants were stained. He had to climb into the backseat for a few minutes to change into a clean pair of shorts that he always kept just in case.

During the course of the drive he had calmed down, but he was still annoyed over what Bill had tried to make him do. He had limits. Yes, Bill was going to make him kill one day, and he was prepared for that to happen. But torturing someone in front of their wife to the point they lost consciousness, and then taking it even further by cutting into them to remove an organ... no. He wasn't ready for that.

Once he was done changing, he got out of the car and headed toward the house.

He hadn't seen or heard Bill either since he left. He wondered where the demon had gone, or if he would be waiting for him inside. No doubt he would be punished for this in some way. He had defied him. Bill could be calm and even funny when Dipper was on his side, but when he questioned him, that cheerfulness could turn to fury in a heartbeat. There would be punishment for what he did. The only question was when.

As he walked up to the door, he heard a scream from inside that he instantly recognized as Mabel's. "Mabel?" He didn't get a response, and threw the door open and ran in. "Mabel!" He raced through the living room and found her in the kitchen, lying on the floor next to one of the counters. A few boxes laid around her, which he knew were from one of the higher cabinets in the room. Had she climbed up onto the counter to reach better and slipped?

He rolled her over and saw a gash on the side of her head, and that her eyes were closed. Fearful, he shook her.

"Mabel, wake up!"

She groaned softly, eyelids flickering, and raised a hand to press to the gash. She flinched and opened her eyes. "Dipper?"

"What happened?" he asked, quickly finding a towel to hand her.

She held it to the cut, which was bleeding now. "It was nothing, I just... couldn't reach something in the very back of the cabinet, so I climbed up onto the counter to get to it, and... my knee just slipped out from under me. I... I think I hit the edge on the way down? It's hard to remember. My head hurts."

"Okay, yeah, you did hit something. Just keep holding that against your head, you have a pretty big cut."

"Should I go to the hospital?" she asked worriedly.

"Maybe. It might need stitches. And you could have a concussion." Dipper glanced over as Stan entered the room.

"What happened, I heard a scream," he said.

Dipper gestured to Mabel. "Mabel fell off the counter."

"Ah, kid, I told you to be careful when you do that." He came over to check the damage.

She snorted. "I've been doing this for years. Just... my knee slipped. I think the counter was wet or something, I don't know."

He gently lifted her hand so he could look, and said, "We probably should take you to the emergency room. Just to make sure this will be okay."

Dipper helped her up. She wavered slightly, but shook her head and pulled from his grip. "I'm fine, really."

"At the very least, a cut that size could get infected. They could give us medicine." He slid his arm through hers. "Come on, let's go to the hospital."

"What about the Shack?" she asked.

"We can open it later. That doesn't matter right now," Stan replied. "Let's go."

"Okay... Dipper, my phone's in my room, can you go grab it for me?"

"Sure." He left her with Stan and headed for the stairs. As he was entering Mabel's room, there was a flash of light and Bill appeared next to him.

"Hey kid, you're finally home," he said.

Dipper didn't even jump, used to Bill's random appearances. "Yeah. Hey, sorry I ran off like that, I just... wasn't ready to-"

Bill cut him off with a wave of the hand. "Oh, no big deal! I totally understand! You'll just do it next time!"

"Yeah, next time." Dipper found Mabel's phone and picked it up.

"I saw your sister take that fall. Is she okay?"

"She should be, but she may need stitches."

Bill nodded thoughtfully. "Good. That must have been scary to see, huh?"

"Definitely."

"Especially after you had that little dispute with me, huh? That's a lot of stress in one day."

Dipper gave him a sideways look. "Bill..."

"I sure hope nothing worse happens to her. There are so many ways she could accidentally hurt herself around here, you know... Since you're not around as much to protect her..."

The way Bill said 'accidentally' made Dipper realize, "You pushed her, didn't you?"

"Pushed her? Of course not! Why would I hurt your dear sister?" Bill laughed, but the look he gave him was not amused. "People have accidents, Pine Tree. We really can't control that. But I think you'll find that the more you refuse to do as I tell you, the more little accidents Shooting Star will have. Entirely coincidental, of course..."

"You son of a bitch." Dipper's arm was almost up before he remembered himself, and lowered it.

Bill didn't miss his clenched fist, though. "Oh, were you going to punch me, Pine Tree?" He floated closer to him, grasping his chin and lifting it. "So feisty. I like that about you. But keep that energy directed toward our enemies, not me."

"If you were in a human body right now I would have punched you," Dipper growled, pulling away. "Because then I know it'd hurt you."

"If I were in a human body right now, I would have punched you back. And you wouldn't be getting up for a while. Actually, I could do that in this form perfectly easily. I just don't feel like it. You've served me well so far. You've earned my appreciation. You do not want to lose it."

There were so many things Dipper could probably yell at him right now, most of them expletives. But he said none of it, instead just sighing and walking toward the door. "And why do I need your appreciation? I'm just your slave. Either way, I'll do what you tell me to."

"Because it comes with benefits. Like those little magic lessons I've been giving you. Like me answering your questions honestly instead of ignoring them. I like you, Dipper."

Hearing the demon speak his actual name was enough to get Dipper to look over at him.

"I like you, and I want you to like me, because that'll make all of this so much easier. Listen, you've been handling this well on your own. But it's clear that some things still repulse you too much to do them. What'll happen when I want you to actually kill someone? Will you refuse then too?"

"I... I don't know, I guess it depends on how you want me to do it... I don't think I could do a very messy job like you want most of the time..."

"But you know if you don't do what I want, you aren't the only one that will pay for it, right?"

Dipper stopped in the doorway and just leaned against it, wanting this conversation to be over. "Right."

"So I have a proposal. How about I just hop into your head and... alter your perception on things? I can push a few... let's call them wires around, connect some things differently, and all of a sudden this will become much, much easier."

"You want to brainwash me so I won't feel remorse for any of this."

"Exactly."

Dipper thought about it, then shook his head. "No. I don't want you changing me like that."

"It's hardly a change! You'll still be entirely yourself, you'll just lose your empathy! For strangers, that is. You'll still love your sister. You'll love your friends and family just as much as you always have. But when we get out there and are dealing with the people who have wronged me, you'll understand that they deserve it. And you'll punish them without any regret whatsoever."

"Even if that punishment is killing them?"

"You'll think nothing of it. I promise." Bill held out his hand, and the offer was so tempting, but Dipper was still unsure. This still sounded like brainwashing, and he didn't like it. He lifted his hand a little, but a shout from downstairs stopped him.

"Dipper, hurry up, we're about to leave!" Stan yelled.

"Coming!" He lowered his hand. "Ask me later. We're taking Mabel to the hospital."

Bill shrugged and moved aside. "She'll be fine. This time."

Dipper gave him a dirty look as he pushed past him, going downstairs.

When the boy disappeared from view, Bill crossed his arms and narrowed his eye. "You will change your perception, kid," he muttered. "One way or another."

Despite how much the gash bled, Mabel ended up only needing some stitches. An x-ray was done and it was determined that she didn't have a concussion, which was a relief. Dipper held her hand as the doctor carefully sowed up the wound. If it hurt, Mabel didn't really show it, just staring off into space.

Then the doctor finished and let her sit up. "There you are. You'll need to keep those in for a few weeks, try not to scratch at them or rub them. They'll dissolve into your skin once the wound is healed. Make sure you still clean that area, though. You don't want to get an infection."

"Okay." She almost rubbed the spot before remembering what he had said, and put her hand down. She leapt down from the table and allowed Dipper to rest an arm around her for support, though by now, she was fully alert and maybe even a little amused over what happened.

After being given some more instructions by the doctor, they were allowed to leave. As they headed for Stan's car, Mabel laughed.

"This was so silly," she said. "I'm always out there fighting monsters with Dipper, and the thing that sends me to the hospital is falling off the counter! I feel like a clumsy old lady."

"It could have been worse," Dipper pointed out. "You could have landed on your head."

"Yeah, but I didn't. Gosh, now I'm really hungry, though. Can we go get pancakes?"

"I don't see why not," Stan replied.

Once they were in the car and buckled, Mabel said to Dipper, "So where were you this morning? Your car was gone."

He gave her a look, mouthing, "Bill." Her eyes widened and she quickly nodded in understanding, but Stan spoke up.

"Yeah, where were you?" he asked.

"Oh, uh... you know." Dipper tried to think of a convincing lie. "I like going out for late drives. I like being alone."

"You can be alone in your room. You're always disappearing in the middle of the night, I know because I can hear your car when you leave, and I'll go upstairs to check on you and you're gone. Usually you're back by the time I wake up, but this time, you weren't. So where were you, really?"

He bit his lip, looking at Mabel for help. She spread her hands helplessly.

"Uh... I secretly sneak into nightclubs!" he said.

Mabel raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged. Stan actually turned to glance back at him for a moment. "How? You're not eighteen yet. In fact, some of those make you be 21."

"Um... I use a fake ID?"

Stan stared at him through the rearview mirror, and Dipper offered a cheeky grin. Then the man laughed. "I can respect that! But be careful, you get found out and it'll probably be a night in jail, at least! And don't expect me to spend the money to bail you out."

"Heh. Don't worry, it's very convincing." Dipper sighed and looked out the window. At least Stan had believed that.

"I was wondering where you were always getting off to, I thought you were in a gang or doing drugs or something. And you've just been off... what, dancing and drinking?"

"Hey, I don't drink," Dipper said honestly. "I just go there to dance. I uh... like raves."

"Nothing wrong with that. Just don't drink, and especially don't take any drugs. Hell, maybe you'll finally get a girlfriend at one of those places."

"Assuming I'm even into girls," Dipper muttered, to an amused snort from Mabel.

Stan heard, though. "Or a boyfriend, then, I don't know. You need something, though."

"I dunno, Stan," Mabel said. "This is Dipper we're talking about. He'll probably bring home a harpy."

"Harpies are actually very nice ladies. You just gotta get over the wrinkly skin and dirty feathers."

Dipper blushed in embarrassment. "I'm not gonna bring home a harpy."

"Nah, we're just messing with you." She gave him a nudge. "It'll probably end up being a demon, huh?"

Dipper's thoughts immediately went to Bill, and he blushed harder. "Mabel!"

That one got Stan roaring. "Yeah, probably! And I've been to some of those clubs, a demon's the least weird thing you'll probably find in there!"

There was no point in protesting anymore. Dipper just shrugged and leaned back against the seat. "Sure. But yes, I'm just going clubbing, I'm not doing anything you need to worry about."

"Okay but if you meet a lovely lady, or gentleman, or whatever else... make sure you bring them home to meet us."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Sure. That'll totally happen."

Mabel leaned close to whisper in his ear, "Even though I know what you're really doing, I'm still expecting you to tell us you're dating Bill any day now."

"God, no!" He moved away from her. While she laughed, he glared out the window.

A soft but familiar voice spoke up in the back of his mind. You act as if that would be so terrible.

Great, even Bill was making fun of him now. He grumbled and rested his head against the glass. He really needed a nap after all this...