Disclaimer: Exams are starting next week, so I went ahead and typed this chapter far in advance. I can't wait for this to be over so second semester can start.

1ToasterKitty: Thanks! I'm having a lot of fun typing this episode.

Guest reviewer: You see, Bill doesn't exactly understand 'love'. In the Reddit A.M.A, he said that 'love is your sick raw biological urge to reproduce'… so… yeah. As the first season continues, we'll see Bill start to develop an attraction to Elaine, and it'll take a while for him to realize why. You're right in the idea of him giving hints and Elaine believing that it's just normal behavior. I'll do a Bill POV once we're further into the story, once Elaine stops being so terrified and angry at him all the time.

RillFipher: Thank you! I've actually had this account for years, and only just started using it for real, so I'm really glad you're enjoying the story. And thanks for your OC request!

Gravity Falls is Alex Hirsch's property, not mine.

"Speaking"

Thinking

"Reading"

Edited: Aug. 4/18

Elaine's POV

I relaxed on the couch on the deck of the Mystery Shack, watching Dipper and Mabel play with Soos just off the deck. The man-child tucked a pillow under his shirt, and checked to see if it was secure. "Hit me, dudes!" He shouted. The twins charged at his stomach and bounced off, laughing as they landed on the grass. "Feels good," he chuckled.

"I'm so glad everything's back to normal!" Mabel said.

"Same here," I agreed from my seat. "I'm just glad to spend time with my favorite twins."

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Um, Elaine? We're the only twins you know."

"That's what you think," I replied, smirking. Truthfully, I knew several sets of twins. Most of them being actual family. But I doubt Dipper and Mabel would find my background that interesting. Parents and sister, yes, but not all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Man, I have a big family. Before Dipper could question me further, the telephone rang, interrupting our conversation.

"Your turn," Mabel and I said, grinning at Dipper.

"Your turn," Dipper said about a second later. "Aw, man." Getting up off the dirt, we watched him head off into the gift shop. Okay. Now that he's gone…

"Hey, Mabel?" She turned to face me. "Can we go talk in private for a moment?" I asked, looking at Soos for a moment. I needed just her to hear this. While I didn't despise Soos, he didn't need to be around for the talk.

"Sure, Elaine!" Mabel said, oblivious to my discomfort.

We said goodbye to Soos and walked up to the bedroom, past Dipper who animatedly talked to Toby Determined over the phone. Once I made sure that he and Stan weren't going to interrupt us, I closed the door. Turning around, I gave a heavy sigh before finally telling Mabel what was on my mind. "I can't help but feel that we did the wrong thing with breaking it off with Gideon."

Judging by her expression, this wasn't what she was expecting. "What!? But, Elaine, you despised him!"

I nodded, glad to know she understood my problem. "I know. But it seems wrong that we had Dipper talk to him instead of doing it ourselves. Shouldn't it be us to talk to Gideon, face-to-face? I mean, I could have done it, but he's… I can't just put down a kid six years younger than me! It's weird, and it makes me feel bad." I hated Gideon, but his young age made me feel all guilty about it too.

Mabel slowly nodded. "I guess you're right… but he's so-"

"Creepy? Stalker-like? A potential psycho?" I cut her off, listing the options on my fingers as I went.

"That's a little harsh, isn't it?" Mabel asked, frowning.

Shrugging, I gave Mabel a quick hug, bending down onto my knees so I was around her height. "Maybe, but just think about what I said. Okay?"

Her arms wrapped around me, the warmth of the sweater helped ease some of the guilt off me. "Okay, Elaine." She smiled at me, and gave a small giggle. "It's nice to see you're starting to open up more since we've had that talk."

"That was four days ago, Mabel," I said, ruffling her long wavy hair.

"Just goes to show you how quickly people can change," she replied, and I joined in her growing laughter. The two of us stood there, more than we needed to, and just laughed at ourselves. No worries, and no pain. Just two people enjoying each other's company.Yeah, Mabel. I guess you're right.

(Time Skip)

Mabel and me were sitting on the porch steps, watching the sunset. Well… I was watching the sunset, Mabel was busy chewing her hair in thought. "How's that hair tastin', buddy?" We looked up to see Wendy come out of the house, and sit down on the other side of Mabel.

"Wendy, we need some advice. You've broken up with guys, right?" Mabel asked her.

"Oh yeah: Russ Durham, Eli Hall, Stoney Davidson..." She started listing off her ex-boyfriends.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I thought everything was back to normal, but I still feel all gross." Mabel crossed her arms, resting on her knees as she thought out loud. I probably should have told her that Wendy wasn't worth asking about guy problems. Honestly, if the redhead had had that many boyfriends, then that should have been a sign. "Elaine chatted with me earlier about it, how I should have broken up with him instead of sending Dipper, and I guess I was just too scared to do it myself."

"… Psyche Wirley, Nate Holt, oh, that guy with the tattoos…"

"Elaine, you were right," she told me. She finally turned away from her moping, and smiled tiredly. She was exhausted from dealing with Gideon, and I didn't blame her. "Gideon deserves an honest breakup. Can you come with me, and act as backup?"

I smiled appreciably. "That-a-girl, Mabel. And sure, I'll be your moral support. Besides, even though I'm not the one suckered into this, I need to stand my ground and not get dragged off on any more dates. Though, should we tell Wendy to stop listing off all of her exes?"

"… Danny Feldman, Mark Epston… oh man, I'm not sure I ever actually broke up with him. No wonder he keeps calling me." Wendy continued her list, ignoring us. Mabel and me stared at her for a moment, before looking back to each other.

"I… just leave her. She wont be snapping out of it for a while. Thanks for talking to Mabel, Wendy." More like only listing guys she broke up with. She never even finished for Mabel to get to the point. Mabel and I got off the steps and ran to grab the bikes next to Stan's car. During one of the dates, we had returned to find Soos storing two bikes, one red and one blue, along the side of the Shack. Two local kids had accidentally forgotten them during a visit. They should be back tomorrow to pick them up, but it didn't hurt to borrow them, right? "Best we go to the warehouse first," I said to Mabel before we left. "Seeing how we don't know where he lives, and since Gideon owns the building, it's a good first pick."

Also there's the idea Dipper is being thrown around like a rag doll at the moment. We sped off through town towards the hill. Mabel took the lead as she knew the way, while I kept right behind her to make sure she didn't fall and hurt herself. We had bikes, but zero helmets. Really, who even rides a bike without a helmet? Once we got closer, I jumped off my bike and ran to the window, Mabel following right after me. Good timing too. We saw Gideon using his psychic powers to hold Dipper in the air, a pair of shears floating towards him. I went to barge through the door, but Mabel beat me to it and flung it open. "Gideon! We have to talk!"

"M-Mabel. My marshmalla." Gideon's eyes widened when he saw me behind her, an extremely ticked-off expression on my face. He dropped the shears in surprise, letting them clatter to the floor as Dipper breathed a sigh of relief. "What are you doin' here?"

"I'm sorry Gideon, but I can't be your marshmallow," Mabel told him, rubbing her arm and looking away. "I needed to be honest and tell you that myself."

"I-I don't understand." Gideon squeezed his amulet, panic and worry in his voice, which caused Dipper to start choking overhead. The boy grabbed at his throat, feeling the aura around him constrict his windpipe and threaten to crush it.

"Uh, Mabel!? This probably isn't the best time to be brutally honest with him!" He shouted, gasps coming out in between the words. I looked up, seeing his arms flail about wildly before looking to Mabel. Hurry, Mabel! We're running out of time here!

"Hey, but we can still be makeover buddies, right? Wouldn't you like that?" Mabel asked him. She walked over, and took his hands in hers. If he knew her half as well as I did, he would have been able to tell that smile was fake.

"Really?" He asked hopefully. Mabel's face changed into one of pure anger, spotting the shining amulet swinging freely around his neck as his hands left it.

"No, not really!" She roughly pulled the charm off of him, causing Dipper to fall to the ground. I rushed over to him to make sure he was okay, but didn't seem to see any bruises on him. "You were like, attacking my brother, what the heck!?"

"My tie! Give it back!" Gideon cried desperately. Mabel threw it to Dipper, who had picked himself off the floor just as I reached him.

"Ha! Not so powerful without this, are you?" Dipper taunted.

"YAAAAA!" Gideon shouted, and charged at Dipper. Dipper dropped the amulet in surprise when Gideon tackled him, making them both break through the glass window. The charm spun around on the floor, coming to a halt at Mabel's feet as she screamed her brother's name. Freezing for a second, I looked from her to where Dipper once stood. I-he just-"oh, forget it!" I threw my arms in the air, did the second most stupid and insane thing since making the deal with Bill Cipher. Not waiting for Mabel to grab the amulet and go after them, I sprinted towards the broken window… and threw myself out of it.

"AAHHH!" The boys' screams matched my own as I hurtled past the edge of the cliff, throwing punch after punch at each other. The wind was whipping my hair around wildly, and all I could hear was the loud terrified thumping of my heart as the ground was quickly rushing up to meet us. Being a few feet above them, I brought my arms and legs together and angled myself to fall just fast enough to reach Dipper. I snatched my arms out, and pulled the twin into my arms and away from Gideon, knocking him off course. Dipper kept screaming, but I felt his body relax slightly when he saw I was trying to shield him. Though, did it really matter? We were still falling, and we were not far off from becoming human pancakes. Just before we hit the earth, with th wind pounding in our ears mixed with our rapid heartbeats, a force pulled us up like a whip. Breathing deeply, Dipper, Gideon, and I all looked at each other before glancing up to the skies. Mabel descending from above holding the amulet, a green glow surrounding her.

Once she got closer to the ground, she floated over to Gideon. "Listen Gideon," Mabel said. Her voice was calm, but you could tell she was beyond angry. "It's over. I will never, ever, date you."

"Yeah!" Dipper added, wanting to get the last word.

Mabel threw the amulet down on the ground, breaking it and causing everyone to fall to the ground. A greenish skull drifted upwards, and faded out of existence. "MY POWERS!" Gideon shrieked, seeing the shards turn dull on the forest floor. "Oh this isn't over. This isn't the last you'll see of wittle… ol' me!" He walked backwards, pointing at us until he disappeared into the woods.

I ran a hand through my windblown hair and looked at the twins, from Mabel's tiredness to Dipper's scratches and bruised eye as he stood up. "Are… are you two alright?"

"Yeah… I'm fine..." they replied calmly, somehow keeping themselves together.

I nodded slowly before picking myself up too. "G… good. Good" The moment I was upright, I grabbed him and Mabel into a fierce hug.

"Whoa!" Dipper exclaimed. "Elaine, what are you-hey, are you crying?" I-I was. I was absolutely terrified. I shook, tears staining their sweater and vest as I took deep breaths to try and calm myself down.

"Please... don't scare me like that again," I mumbled into their shoulders. I couldn't make out their expressions. I was too busy in clinging to them for dear life. "I know, that we're gonna face a lot of difficult situations this summer. But please, try to be a little more careful? I-I know. I-I know I keep to myself, b-but I can't imagine seeing you t-two getting h-hurt on my watch. I-I don't w-want to sit on the sidelines anymore." My adrenaline was in overdrive, and I refused to back away from them in case something else happened. They-Dipper and Mabel... I couldn't bear to see them get hurt.

"Oh, Ellie," Mabel whispered. She and Dipper hugged me back, although not quite as intense as I was.

"Y'know, it's gonna be impossible for us not to get into trouble this summer," Dipper said. "This isn't going to be the end of it."

I gave a soft chuckle, reaching up behind Mabel's back to wipe at my eyes behind my glasses. "I-I know." Trust me, kid. I know.

(Time Skip)

It took us a while to finally reach the Mystery Shack. I had Dipper take my bike, while Mabel sat on the handlebars of hers as I peddled. We went straight to the living room once we arrived and put the borrowed bikes back where we found them, and collapsed on the couch, too tired to go up to our own beds. "Oh, I am so tired, it isn't even funny."

We watched Grunkle Stan walk in and hang a clown painting on the wall. "I coulda had it all," he said sadly. Um, could of? He was willing to sell Mabel for future financial gain. He-oh, I was too tired to focus any more. Stan turned and looked at us, finally seeing he wasn't alone. "What the heck happened to you three?"

"Gideon," Mabel groaned.

"Gideon," Dipper and I agreed. My cheeks were still slightly red from before, but Stan didn't seem to notice.

"Gideon," Stan growled, tightening his grip on the Pitt Cola can he had in hand, apparently balancing it and the painting at the same time. "Yeah, the little mutant 'swore vengeance' on the whole family. Ha, I guess he's gonna try to nibble my ankles or somethin'."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, how's he gonna destroy us now, huh?" Dipper taunted as Stan sat down on the dinosaur skull table beside us, smiling as we all mocked the little madman. "Try to guess what number we're thinking of?" He laughed.

"He'll never guess what number I'm thinking of," Mabel said. "NEGATIVE EIGHT! No one would guess a negative number."

"Uh, oh. He's planning our destruction right now!" Stan said. We burst into fits of laughter as Stan started tickling us and laid on top of us on the couch, dropping his empty can to the floor. This was-things really changed now, huh? I-that moment where Dipper went over the cliff, I-I just acted. I didn't think about what would happen to me. I just jumped, ready to try and keep him save. Part of me knew he would have been safe, but th-this wasn't a show anymore. I had to keep them safe, these kids. They… they liked me. And… I looked at their laughing, smiling faces, and burst into another round of giggles underneath Stan, who still was piled on top of us and pinning us to the cushions. I like them too.

3rd POV

Gideon sat at his dresser, adding the finishing touches to the Mabel doll's face. Besides the spilled puddles of glue, he had taken the time to create a miniature Mystery Shack and Popsicle stick pine trees. A discarded juice box and cookie sat on the edge, now forgotten in his scheming. The moment his father had gone to bed, he had went straight to work on the model. Oh, he wouldn't let this go. No, no.

"Gideon, I still love you. If only my family weren't in the way," he said in a feminine voice, pinching its head and hopping it around like the doll was alive. He attached the head to the Grunkle Stan doll, snapping it into place. "Look at me. I'm old, and I'm smelly." Gideon roughly grabbed the Elaine doll by its ponytail, letting it swing side to side in his grip. "Would ya look me! I know more than I let on and have tons of secrets I'm not willing to share!"

Gideon dropped it to the desk, instead of sitting down the Stan and Mabel dolls like before, and picked up the Dipper doll. Just like the elderly man, he had given it crossed eyes, and even went as far as to give it a tongue sticking out. The boy was a fool, truly. He thought he had everything figured out. Like he was some 'big hero'. "Hey, what are you gonna do without your precious amulet?"

"Oh, you'll see boy..." Gideon said in his regular voice, and closed journal two on the table. The lamp cast a shine over the golden hand, highlighting the inked on number. "You'll see..."

Elaine's POV

Strangely enough, I'd started getting used to having Bill pop up in my sleep every once in a while. Not that it had happened enough, but I was almost ready for it now. I would expect to be woken up in the Mindscape, in the company of the dream demon. But tonight, there happened to be two things wrong with that idea. The first was the surprising lack of triangular demons. The second being the fact I wasn't in Mindscape, or even the Mystery Shack anymore. Instead, I had awoken in a place much, MUCH worse.

My bed floated in a sea of lightning and swirling colors that twisted and bubbled like foam, and asteroids were being pushed around by the lack of gravity. I swallowed back a scream, hearing the growls of monsters and demons echo me, but could not see them from where I sat. As another panicked reaction began to build in my throat, I heard the dream demon's mocking laughter.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to come visit me!" Bill's shrill voice reverberated all around me. I spun around in the bed, and saw I was floating directly in front of the infernal triangle, who was sitting on a throne made up of the most freakish optical illusions that I could not even begin to comprehend. My fear skyrocketed when I saw that instead of his normal 5 feet, Bill was closer to a height of 30 feet. Holy c-he's a giant!

"B-Bill?" I squeaked, his name being the first logical thing I said since waking up. "W-where am I?"

Ignoring my question, Bill lazily waved his hand. Out of his throne, dark red glowing arms shot out of nowhere and yanked me off my bed. Snaking around my body, they bound my legs and arms together, and pulled me towards his intense gaze. The unnatural chains placed me at Bill's eye level, which was way more intimidating than our previous meetings. With 6 times my height on him, I was nervous as to what he had planned.

"You know, Angel?" He asked casually, tracing a pattern on the left armrest of his throne. "I'm not very fond of my puppets getting themselves damaged. Not unless I'm the one doing it. I, you see, am capable of stopping before my toys get broken beyond their use."

"W-what do you mean?" I felt one of the hands snake up around my throat, and its index finger traced along my jugular. The action hurt, when I hissed as the unexpected nail dug into the skin. Not enough to cut and bleed, but enough to get the very clear message across.

Bill's eye turned red as he glared at me. "Did you really think it was a good idea to throw yourself over a cliff?"

Oh man. Oh man, oh man, oh man. He saw that!? The bindings tightened around me, making me gasp out for air. I take that as a yes! Bill leaned forward in his throne, towering over me more than when he was laying against the back. "Have you forgotten, kid...?" His body turned from his bright yellow to a dark red, his limbs and hat now matching the color of my shackles. The arms around me brought me even closer to his 'face', and I knew he could very well use them to squeeze the life out of me. "As long as our deal is in effect, you BELONG TO ME!" His deepened voice rebounded in the infinity, causing me to cower in front of him. "Keep that in mind before you go and do something idiotic," Bill added, his voice and color going back to normal as fast as it changed.

My body kept shaking underneath my wraps, feeling them start to tighten to get a reply out of me. "O-okay," I stuttered. "O-okay, I get it! I get it! No doing anything stupid!" Bill waited a second, and seemed to be satisfied with my answer. With another wave of his hand, the arms released me and I hovered in front of the demon, letting me breathe properly once again. Whoa. Gravity and no gravity. There's laws and no laws at the same time. "T-thank you." An awkward silence filled the air, as one of us waited to see who spoke next. Well, I doubted it was awkward for Bill. He seemed fairly amused in how I was dealing with my strange new surroundings. "W-where-?" I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Where am I?"

He 'grinned' at me. "Welcome to the Nightmare Realm, Angel!" I gaped at Bill, the name ringing a small bell as I had only heard about it once before. The Last Mabelcorn. Did-does he mean I'm in his dimension!? "Yep!" He burst out laughing, kicking his legs as I snapped my mouth shut.

"So you went and dragged my subconscious into another dimension!? How is that even possible!? And what was wrong with bringing me back into the Mindscape!?" I asked, firing off question after question. There was no harm in doing all of this in my own mind, so why did he bring me to this place?

"Simple; I just waited until you were asleep before dragging your subconscious back with me to my home," Bill said like it was normal. But this. Wasn't. Normal! "As for your second question, I thought you'd appreciate a change of scenery."

I looked around before focusing back on Cipher. "So a swirling maelstrom of madness filled with your horrific minions is your idea of a 'change of scenery'?"

"Glad you like it!" Bill missed the sarcasm, or chose to ignore it altogether. "Easy, Angel. I don't plan on bringing you here all the time, only when I need to."

I narrowed my eyes. "So when you need to lecture me then."

He chuckled darkly, agreeing with my pointed statement. "Now you're catchin' on."

I rubbed my arms, trying to sooth the phantom pains left by my bindings. Bill noticed this and 'grinned' at me. "Still haven't healed yet? Man, you meatbags are pathetic."

"Well, excuse me for being human," I grumbled. I wasn't capable of being invincible to injuries, and if I was agreeing to go out and keep Dipper and Mabel safe, more wounds were bound to happen.

Bill hummed in thought before his eye lit up, the change in behavior making me shrink away from him. Oh, what is it now? "How 'bout this, kid. Why don't we make another deal?"

"WHAT!?" I screeched at him, any sense of being calm gone in an instant. "I've already dug my own grave by making a deal with you! Why would I make a second one!?"

"Yeesh kid, relax! You're so edgy you make me look like a circle!" My frown deepened at his joke as he stopped to snicker. "Because if you agree, I'll speed up the healing on your body."

Huh. Wasn't expecting that one. I slowly nodded at his suggestion, trying to see any possible loophole. "And what could you possibly want from me this time? I already told you I'm not doing body possessions or stealing anything. If you want the journal, find another person to play fetch."

"I can tell kid that you happen to have a lot of questions about this town, and about yours truly," he began. "That journal will only get you so far. I should know. I've written some of it myself when possession the sap. And I myself have a lot of questions for you too."

"You're an omniscient being, Bill," I said before he could continue. "What questions could you possibly have for me?"

"Don't interrupt me, kid," the demon hissed, his eye flashed red as a warning. "Just because I'm all-knowing, doesn't mean I understand everything you fleshbags do."

"So… you don't know everything then," I gave a sly smile.

"Drop it, kid." Bill glared at me for a moment. "So how 'bout this: every time I pop in to check on you, you and I will ask each other a question, and as long as you answer honestly, I'll heal your injuries in return!"

I told myself before that I wasn't going to allow Bill to fully gain my trust, and I could only assume he knew that too. But the deal he proposed to me didn't seem as horrible as it could've possibly been. No possibly loopholes that I could see, and with my current knowledge, I couldn't think of any questions he could ask me that would result in anything dangerous happening. No commands, just simple questions we had for each other. "One question per day?" He nodded. "No loopholes? No-no tricks?" Another nod. "And all I have to do is answer truthfully?"

"Yep!" Bill said. "Let's be honest, kid. Those injuries you've got aren't going away anytime soon."

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. Come on, Elaine. Isn't answering a simple question per day worth getting all your wounds completely healed? "...deal… still hate you though."

"Like I really care, kiddo." Bill appeared quite pleased with my answer, immediately getting off his throne and shrinking back down to the size I was used to seeing him as. His hand was already enveloped in the familiar aqua blue flames from our first encounter. Hesitantly, I wrapped my hand around his… and promptly blacked out.

The last thing I saw before I was forcefully returned to Gravity Falls was Bill 'smiling' at me, his image quickly fading away. "See you soon, Angel!" His muffled voice cheered, before narrowing his eyes. The hand gripped harder, just as I was booted to the real world. "Remember kid, I'm always watching."

(Time Skip)

"Hey journal. So… you remember what I briefly mentioned 'hanging around' with Bill? Well, let's just say things have gotten a little more interesting..."

There's still time to submit an OC if you wish. I plan to close the opening once I begin typing Double Dipper, so right after posting Dipper vs Manliness.

Until next time!

Angel