Yeah! Finally a chapter longer than 2,000 words! I am so excited to write this chapter. We are actually getting in to some interesting stuff! Unless you found the last two chapters really interesting. Tell me in a review if you found the past chapters interesting, I'm not exactly sure since these past two chapters were basically meant to set up the plot. Anyways, now the reviews...
iGogoTomago64: You'll have to read and find out what happens!
bloodstone38: I don't know. Will Bill be in this chapter?
Guest: I'm glad you thought my story started off well. As for your question, Bill will mostly be in his human form BUT his triangle form will not be forgotten! I hate it when writers forget he has a triangle form but I promise you that there will be points in the story where Bill is a triangle. He is, after all, our Dorito Overlord and last time a checked, Doritos were triangle shaped.
Saphirabrightscale: I'm glad you like it!
Thank you all you amazing people for reviewing. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls. It is owned by the wonderful Alex Hirsch and Disney.
Mabel untangled the sheets from her body and shakily got out of bed. She looked over and saw that Dipper was still asleep so she made her way to the door as quietly as possible.
She opened it inched by inch and cringed when it made a screech. She stayed silent for a moment, listening for a noise.
Besides a tiny moan, Dipper didn't seem to have woken up.
Mabel let out a sigh of relief and slipped out the room. She tiptoed to the bathroom that was right across the hall. She tapped her knuckles against the door to see if anyone was in there. She didn't hear a reply so she opened the door and flipped the light switch.
Mabel covered her eyes from the bright light and blindly reached behind her for the doorknob. When her hand grabbed it, she pushed the door shut. Mabel rubbed her eyes and opened them again, now adjusted to the light.
She walked over to the mirror and frowned at what she saw. Her whole body, including her face, was covered in bright red scratches, some even bleeding a little. Her hair and nightgown were covered in dirt and sweat. She lifted an arm to smell her armpit and reeled back in disgust. She smelled as though she just ran thirty miles then jumped into a dumpster. She needed to take a shower immediately.
She turned to the tub and twisted the faucet labeled hot. Water shot out from the shower head and Mabel sighed in relief as the steam hit her. It felt so good on her skin.
She closed the curtain around the tub so that water wouldn't get on the floor and then turned to open the closet that contained the towels. She opened the closet door, grabbed a fluffy white towel, and then closed it again. Mabel placed the towel of the floor beside the tub and started to take off her nightgown.
Once she took off her clothes, including her underwear, she threw them into the hamper nearby and stepped into the shower.
She let out a small moan when the water hit her skin and stood there for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the relief the water brought. Mabel never knew water could feel so good. Then she got down to business.
Mabel grabbed the nearby bar of soap and began to scrub herself. She made sure that not a single place on her body would be covered in filth and grime when she was done. The dirt that was covering her body fell into the water and turned it a brownish-black. The scratches did sting in the process, but she didn't mind too much.
When her body was scrubbed and dirt free, Mabel moved onto her hair. She quickly grabbed the bottle of shampoo and squirted a glob of it onto her right hand. She plopped it onto her head and began to scrub ferociously. The dirt had turned muddy and was starting to stream down her back so she knew she was going to have to wash her body again.
She scrubbed her head till it felt like there was nothing in it and then she moved onto the conditioner. Mabel again squirted a large glob onto her right hand and began to scrub her head. She did this for about three minutes until her hair felt squeaky clean. She sighed and washed her body with soap one more time and finally all traces of dirt were gone.
She turned off the water and pulled the plug so that the muddy water would drain. Mabel stepped out of the tub and dried herself with the towel.
She was about to grab her clothes to put on when she realized that she never grabbed any. "Really," she mumbled to herself. She wrapped the towel around her, opened the bathroom door, and tiptoed her way back to Dipper and hers bedroom.
When she got in, Dipper was already up and getting dressed.
Dipper turned to say something, but saw that his sister only had on a towel. A blush formed on his face and Mabel had one appearing on her face also.
Dipper gave a shaky laugh. "Ummmmm..." he slipped on his vest, "I'll be out in the hallway." He diverted his gaze so he wouldn't meet Mabel's eyes and sped out of the room.
When he got into the hallway Mabel slammed the door shut. Although Dipper and her were siblings, they still didn't like being naked in front of each other! Even if she did have a towel on! She grumbled nonsense under her breath while she grabbed her blue sweater with the lighter blue stars and a black skirt. As she was putting them on, she decided to ask Dipper about the creatures that she saw in her dream, or not dream. She still wasn't quite sure if what she saw as real or not, but judging by the dirt and scratches that were on her body when she woke up, she was leaning towards real.
"So Dipper?"
"Yeah Mabel?"
"Um, I was wondering … Did any of the journals ever mention anything about shadow creatures that appear in people's dream?" Since Bill had burned the first three journals, Dipper and Great Uncle Ford had been working on creating new ones. They were working on number five right now.
Dipper leaned against the door and put a hand to his chin in thought. "Shadowy creature, shadowy creatures... Nope, I don't think Great Uncle Ford, you or I have ever run into shadowy creatures. Or if Ford has, he didn't tell me which is unlikely but…" Dipper trailed off for a moment. Then he shook his head bringing him back to the question at hand. "Why do you ask?"
Mabel swallowed. "N-no reason. Just my silly imagination." A nervous laugh escaped her throat. Then she pulled her sweater over her head, put on her skirt, and slipped on her shoes.
Now being dressed, Mabel threw the bedroom door open and Dipper fell in. Mabel let out a whole hearted laugh, the first all day. Dipper joined in and in seconds they were a pair of laughing idiots. The loud laughing caused Waddles to wake up and trot over to Mabel. She smiled and picked the pig up. Once she calmed down, she was finally able to speak. "Come on Dipper! I bet Grunkle Stan has breakfast read-"
"Kids! It's time for breakfast! I made Stancakes!" A giant grin broke out on the Pines twins face when they heard their Grunkle's gruff voice.
Mabel looked down at Dipper. "Race you to the kitchen!" She jumped over her brother and ran out the door, Waddles clinging to her arm for dear life.
"What?! Mabel, you got a head start!" Dipper quickly stood up and scampered after Mabel.
The rest of the day went by smoothly for the Pines twins. Mabel and Dipper helped Soos around the shack, they had an epic water balloon fight, and they may or may not have almost burned down the whole forest!
It was a bad idea for Grunkle Stan to buy that flamethrower. It was an even worse idea to leave it where Mabel could easily find it.
All in all, Mabel had forgotten about the shadowy creatures and was having an amazing day of Summer.
At least until it was time to go to sleep.
"Come on Mabel, I think you've brushed your teeth well enough." Dipper and Mabel were in the bathroom brushing their teeth. Dipper had finished five minutes ago but Mabel was still going.
"Bot Dibbeg," she spit the toothpaste out of her mouth and tried again. "But Dipper, unlike you, I have braces and having braces means I have to brush my teeth very well and take longer."
"Yeah, but you usually don't take eight minutes! In fact, you've been taking a lot longer to do everything tonight!"
Mabel knew he was right. She'd been taking triple the amount of time to do everything, from eating to picking out what nightgown to wear and now brushing her teeth.
She didn't want to go to sleep, afraid that the shadowy creatures were real and were going to kill her. A normal person would have just dismissed it as their crazy imagination during the dream, but from all Mabel has seen, she knew that it was entirely possible that the dream was real. And unless she somehow began sleep walking again (something she hasn't done since she was a child), there was no other explanation for the scratches and dirt that were on her this morning.
Also, Mabel may have been able to hide the scratches from her family, but how on Earth would she be able to explain her mysteriously dying in the middle of the night?! Answer, she couldn't! She would be dead!
Of course, she didn't voice any of this to Dipper. She simply shrugged her shoulders and put the toothbrush back in her mouth.
Her brother sighed and walked to the door, opening it a tad. He decided to take on a different approach. "I'll be in bed. If you aren't there in five minutes I will tell Grunkle Stan that you have been wondering about how a woman's body worked." He smirked at Mabel's scared expression then ran out the door. She shivered at the memory of her Grunkle teaching her how a boy's body worked back when she was twelve. She did not want to go through that again!
She quickly spit out the rest of the toothpaste then bolted out of the bathroom.
"Dipper," she shouted, "don't you da-ahhh!" She screamed as she tripped on a lose floorboard, falling through the doorway and into the bedroom. Holding her head, she looked up and saw Dipper smirking at her. Mable glared at him. "I hate you."
"Sure you do Mabel. But trust me; you'll thank me later once you actually get some sleep." He walked away from her and jumped onto his bed.
"B-but," she stammered, "it's barely e-even l-late!"
Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Mabel, it's eleven o'clock."
"Yeah… But it's Summer! That means we can stay up however long we want!"
Sorry Mabel," Dipper yawned, "but I want to go to sleep." He laid down then pulled the blanket up over himself. He turned so that he was facing the wall and said nothing else.
"Dipper," Mabel whined, "come on!" She went to pull the blankets off of him when snores began to echo around the room. She grunted. Of course he was already asleep.
She turned and jumped into her bed and, like Dipper, she laid down. However, instead of closing her eyes and going to sleep, Mabel kept them wide open. There was no way she was going to sleep!
Five minutes later she felt her eyes begin to droop. She shook her head. No, Mabel thought to herself, I am NOT sleeping!
Ten minutes later she felt her mind falling, if that made sense, a sign she was going to sleep. She slapped herself in the cheek. No, no, no, no, NO! I'm not going to sleep!
Twenty minutes later, sleep felt like the best thing in the world. Although her mind told her to stay awake, something about the way sleep called her convinced her to stop listening to her head. She closed her eyes and within seconds, she was out.
Mabel opened her eyes.
She was in a field and all she could see was grass for miles and miles around. The sky above her held a few clouds but that was it. There weren't any woods or hills or cliffs, just grass and sky. But the worst part?
Everything around her was black, white, or grey.
Her heart picked up its pace and she pushed herself up. She frantically looked around to see if anyone was with her. No one was.
Okay, Mabel began to think, this isn't so bad. At least I'm alone this time and-
A cold breeze behind her made Mabel's brain stop functioning. The last time she felt a breeze…
She slowly turned around, and then screamed.
Hundreds of the shadowy creatures were behind her. Some of them blobs, others in their "human" form. Worst of all, in front of them stood the shadow that haunted her thoughts throughout all of dinner that night. The leader. The one that wanted her dead.
"No Mabel," the shadow sighed, "you are not alone."
Mabel tried to turn and run away but found her feet stuck in some sort of black and purple goo. The leader walked up and grabbed Mabel's chin. Her hand, if Mabel could call it that seeing that it was only a black shadow, was cold and caused a shiver to run down Mabel's spine. The leader frowned. "You know, you are quite pretty. It's a shame we're going to have to kill you."
Mabel twisted her head so her chin was out of the women's grasp. "W-why," Mabel stammered, "d-d-do you want me d-dead? A-and who are you!" She tried to sound more confident on the last part but she still couldn't stop her stutter from breaking out.
The women shrugged. "Why we want you dead? Why, you already know the answer to that dear. But who we are… Well, I don't see the harm in telling you. You're going to be dead in a few minutes anyways." Mabel swallowed but didn't say anything else. Maybe why the shadow creature was talking, she could find a way to escape this goo.
The woman threw her wispy black arms out and gestured to the shadows behind her. "We are what are known as the Shadows of the Underworld." She turned to face her fellow shadows as she continued her story. "We are shadows that live in the world down under but we do have the power to travel through different realms, like your Dreamscape for instance. However, the one place we truly want to go but can't, is the living world. Why we want to go there, well I don't need to tell you, but lets just say it won't be pretty. Anyway, millions of years ago…" Mabel tuned out after that. She had already spent enough valuable time, learning who they were; she didn't want to waste any more of it.
She tried twisting and moving her legs every which way but her feet wouldn't budge. Mabel would glance up every couple seconds to see if any of the shadows saw what she was doing. They didn't.
Mabel put her left thumb and forefinger up to her forehead and began to rub it. She had to do something! Think Mabel, what can you do to get out? She thought up many possible ways but she knew none could work. Ugh! If only I didn't wear my slippers to bed! Then I could have felt the goo coming! Wait a minute! She gasped then quickly covered her mouth. Thankfully no one noticed. They were too wrapped up in their leader's story to notice her.
Mabel looked down and realized that the slippers were protecting her feet from the goo! It did however surround her ankles and that's what kept her trap. It was only a very thin layer however and if she moved her feet in just the right way…
She smiled when she heard a small crack. Her left foot was breaking through. Mabel kept twisting and twisting until it was finally free. She placed it onto an area without any of the black and purple goo. Then she repeated the process but with her right foot.
Her right foot broke free. Mabel smiled, but her victory was short lived. She felt herself falling backwards. She tried using her arms to regain her balance but it was to no avail. She fell to the ground causing the grass surrounding her to make a crackling sound.
The shadows heard the sound and turned to face where Mabel fell. When the leader turned around, her face changed from calm to outrage in a matter of seconds. "You little brat! Thinking you can escape me! Well Ms. Pines. Your time is up and my little story has come to an end. It's time you find out what death feels like!" Just like in her dream the night before, the woman pointer a wispy black finger in Mabel's direction. "Kill her! And this time, do NOT fail!"
The shadows did not hesitate. They leaped up in the air and began to fly at her from all different directions. Mabel knew she could not escape this time. She closed her eyes and began to think things she wished she had said to people.
Mom and Dad, I'm sorry I always get you worried. I love you so much and I don't try to make you worry when Dipper and I go out on adventures. It my fault most of the time! I'm sorry.
Soos and Wendy, you guys are some amazing friends. Wendy, I hope you find a job you love and Soos, I hope you have a wonderful life with Melody. You guys will always be part of my family.
Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford, you are the best great uncle's ever. I couldn't have asked for anyone better. I'm sorry Dipper and I get into dangerous situations that might kill us here in Gravity Falls and like Mom and Dad, you worry about us, but I love you for that. You guys were always there to protect me. Thank you!
Candy and Grenda. You are the best friends I could ever have. I know we haven't seen one another in person since last Summer, but my opinion about you hasn't changed. You are still the most amazing friends on Earth and I thank you for being with me through and through.
Waddles, you were the best pig (and only pig) I ever had. Don't ever stop doing your cute waddle okay?
Pacifica, I know we never saw eye to eye when we first meet, but we've become really great friends over the past five years. You are beautiful and I hope you never forget it!
And Dipper, you are the best brother I could have ever asked for. We have had our ups and downs but we have stayed together no matter what. I'm going to miss you the most. Goodbye Dipper.
Mabel felt tears prick her eyes. She opened them one last time to see the shadows approaching at rapid speed. Mabel squeezed them shut again then waited for the impact.
She felt hot.
Is this what death feels like? You don't feel hurt, but immense heat? More thoughts like this ran around in her head.
Then she heard a scream. Multiple screams to be precise.
Wait a minute, Mabel thought, there's no way I could be screaming multiple times.
Her eyes flew open and she gasped at the sight in front of her.
The field was engulfed in blue flames. The shadows were flying into the air trying to escape it. Some made it out but others weren't so lucky. The fire caught them and they disappeared with a retched scream.
Mabel looked up and saw the leader, who's name she still hadn't learned, throwing her hand down with a slashing notion. To Mabel's surprise, a black and purple rip appeared were the leader slashed. "Come on! Whatever the blasted girl did is protecting her. We can't touch her or even get near her without being burned to a crisp. Now if you want to live, I suggest you leave. Now!" The woman flew through the portal, the rest of living shadows following her. The rip snapped shut.
Mabel was still confused about something though. What did the she mean whatever I did is protecting… me? Oh my gosh the fire isn't touching me! Mabel looked all around her and realized the leader was right. There was a giant ring around her where the fire wouldn't touch.
Just as soon as she realized this, the blue fire disappeared.
Mabel slowly stood up and looked at the field around her, pure shock on her face.
The field was perfectly normal. It was as if the fire never happened. But that was impossible! It was killing the shadows and everything! It even made them leave! It had to have been real!
Mabel shook her head. "Maybe none of this shadow stuff actually happened. Maybe this really is a dream and I'm just going crazy."
"Crazy? No, that word doesn't seem right. Silly and wacky maybe, but crazy? Nope. That word is reserved for a being like me. After all, I have lost my mind, if I ever had one Shooting Star."
Mabel's blood froze. Shooting Star. That word echoed in her brain. Only one person, no, one being has ever called her that. And only one being had the high pitch, echoy voice she would recognize anywhere.
She slowly turned around and met face to face, or face to triangle with the one eyed dream demon.
Bill Cipher.
She screamed and fell back on the ground. Bill found this quite amusing and gave off a quick laugh.
Mabel began to stammer again. "B-B-B-Bill?! Y-you're supposed t-to be dead!"
"Dead is such a strong word Shooting Star, I was, let's say… out of order for a little while. But thanks to your fat friend, I'm free again!
Mabel was flabbergasted. Soos freed Bill? But how? Bill was erased from existent. He should be gone!
The triangle himself rolled his eye. He flew down and proceeded to knock on Mabel's head as if it were a door. "Hello? Anyone home? It is very impolite to ignore people you know!" Mabel glared up at the dream demon and swatted his hand away. He scoffed. "And to think, you are treating me so rudely after I just saved your life." Bill made his cane appear and began to swing it around his finger while he waited for Mabel to process the information.
Mabel's eyes widened. "The fire! That was you?!"
"Of course! Who else do you think has blue flames at their disposal?!"
Mabel narrowed her eyes at him and stood up. She crossed her arms but didn't move any closer to him. Who knew what Bill had up his sleeves? "And why," Mabel growled, "would you save me?"
Bill had been waiting for her to ask that. He put both hands on his cane and flew as close to her as they could be without touching. "It's quite simple Shooting Star. I want to make a deal with you."
Mabel stepped back in shock. She regained her posture quickly this time however and her shock turned to anger. "No way! The first time you made a deal, it was to get the deed to the shack so Gideon could take it for himself. The second time you took over Dipper's body and used him as your puppet! And the third time you made a deal was to get information from Great Uncle Ford's mind and make Weirdmageddon global. We were able to stop you though so thank goodness for that. Also, who knows what other deals you have made that have turned back on the person who asked for it. For all I know, you could have killed that person! Now tell me! Why would I want to make a deal with you?"
Bill had to admit that she made a very valid argument. However, he had an even better one.
"If you don't make a deal with me Shooting Star, you will die."
Mabel's eyes widened, then narrowed again. She growled. "What?"
"The Shadows of the Underworld, very original name by the way, will stop at nothing to kill you. The only reason you were able to get out of the situation the first time was because they underestimated you."
"How did you-"
"I saw it all, and please don't interrupt. Again, quite rude. Anyways, and the only reason you got out this time was because of me, and I'm willing to bet that you had no plan to get out of that situation, am I right?" Mabel didn't reply. "Thought so. So you see Shooting Star, unless you make a deal with me, you won't survive the next night."
Mabel gritted her teeth. Bill did make a very valid point. However, she did notice he was leaving out one thing. "A deal goes both ways," she muttered, "which means both parties must get something they want."
"Yes," Bill moaned, "I know how a deal works. I invented them."
Mabel ignored him. "So that means if I make a deal with you, you want something from me. What is it?"
Bill shrugged. "I don't know. You don't have anything I need at the moment and I have no reason to posses your body or mind… So let's just say you owe me a favor.'
Mabel raised an eyebrow. "That's it; I just owe you a favor?"
Bill chuckled. "Yes, that's it. But remember Shooting Star, if you owe me a favor that means I can do anything I want with it. For all you know, I could ask to eat your soul and you would have to give it to me." Bill laughed at her horrified expression. "Relax, I'm joking. I don't eat souls. Minds maybe, but souls, no." He laughed again at the expression on her face. "Just another joke Shooting Star. Seriously, your kind takes everything too... well seriously!"
Mabel swallowed the lump in her throat. She had two choices. Either a, agree to Bill's deal and be protected but have to owe him a favor, or b, die to the shadows.
She growled. "Fine, we have a deal."
Bill lifted his right hand up and blue fire, looking exactly like the one that was in the field minutes ago, engulfed his hand. Mabel gathered up all the courage she had and lifted her right hand towards his.
The grabbed each other's hands, the fire not hurting Mabel at all.
Bill stopped looking at their hands and he glanced up at Mabel. "Deal?" She grumbled at how happy he seemed about this.
"Deal."
They shook hands.
The deal was done.
They let go and while Mabel was glaring at the triangle, Bill was so happy that if he had a mouth, he wouldn't be able to contain his smile.
He had finally struck a deal after so many years. It felt good. And to make it even better, the brat now owed him a favor. His day couldn't get any better.
Bill turned and began to float away. Before he left, he called back to her. "I'll explain where we start tomorrow." He didn't hear a reply, then…
"What?! What do you mean 'where we start tomorrow'?"
Bill laughed for the fifth time today. He was having so much fun! He turned to face her. "What, did you think we were just going to wait for the shadows to attack us? That would be a complete waste of my time. The only way to truly stop them from killing you is to make sure they can't kill you. Like I said, we will discuss it tomorrow. It would have been better today, but it seems you're waking up."
Mabel looked down at her body and saw that Bill was right. Her hands and feet were starting to fade and it was spreading up her body. She looked back up and saw that Bill was right in front of her again.
"You know, let's make this interesting, shall we Shooting Star?" He snapped his finger and Mabel was surround by a blue light and levitated off the ground. Bill snapped his fingers again and a dark void appeared where she once stood. Mabel looked up at him confused. "I heard that you're afraid of heights Shooting Star, and loved hearing you scream in fright last night."
While Mabel's eyes were full of fear in what she figured he was doing, Bill's was full of delight. He straightened his bow tie, took of his top hat, and gave her a small bow. "See you tomorrow night Shooting Star." Then he snapped his fingers again and the blue light surrounding Mabel disappeared. She gave Bill one last hateful glare before she fell.
She screamed at the top of her lungs as she began her descent. Then Mabel looked back up at the dream demon who was floating there, watching her fall. "Bill!" her voice was full of anger, fear, and frustration. Things Bill loved to cause people. He didn't reply to Mabel's scream. He just laughed.
And that was the last thing Mabel heard, the echoing on Bill's laughter.
She woke up with a start.
Once again, the blankets were tangled all around her and there was sweat streaming down her face. Then she groaned remembering what happened. She made a deal with Bill.
This wasn't going to end well.
Mabel sighed and looked at her body. At least I'm not covered with scratches and dirt from head to toe she thought.
I just want to get this off my chest… BILL IS SO HARD TO WRITE! I hope I did a good job presenting his character because, like I said, he is so difficult to write. Also, I was going to stop the chapter when Bill appeared to Mabel, but I decided to be nice and continue on.
Okay aerizel, you wanted to know what my theory is so here you go! Bill is (or was in my stories case) trapped. The memory eraser gun they use is the same one Society of the Blind Eye used. If you remember, the memories would be trapped in a little container and then sent to a room. When Grunkle Stan punched Bill, Bill disappearing was only him being sucked into the container in the memory gun. We know Ford had studied the memory gun since we saw it in his secret room in "The Last Mabelcorn", so he knew Bill was trapped inside the container and if anyone broke it, he would get out. So Ford, telling nobody, hid the container where nobody would ever find it again. Bill was trapped in there until (in my story) Soos found the canister and accidentally broke it, which let Bill escape.
That's my theory! Do you guys like it or not?
Also, I have a question involving my updating procedure. Right now, I update the chapter whenever I finish it. Would you rather I only update on a certain day, or just update when I finish the chapter. Please leave a yes or no in the review section if you can. This is for you, not me. I want to know what you guys would like better.
Please R&R, follow, and favorite if you liked this story. If you have anything you think I should improve on, don't be shy! Leave a review! I enjoy constructive criticism. I hope you'll read the next chapter. Until then…
Peace! GamerFan369