AN: Well, here's part 2!
And an update: I bought and read Journal 3 (minus the encrypted parts, those will take time) but I may work some of that stuff into the story! I highly recommend reading it, not just to understand this story, but because it's really good!
Another update: I will be working stuff from Journal 3 into the story so definitely beware of spoilers! Especially of a certain note left behind... (Which in no way did I come up with its word for word taken from the Journal!)
And some thanks are in order... First of all, thank you to the users serendipity. and Solarizing of ChickenSmoothiecom, Scifur of FlightRisingcom, and BinxAngelo14 of Fanfictionnet(also found on FlightRising, my awesome RP buddy!) for being my amazing beta readers of chapter one!
Also cover art is both drawn and photoshopped by BinxAngelo13! (The background obviously is an official image from Gravity Falls, neither of us own that!) And the background art isn't up yet because the only device of mine that image manager doesn't hate is in the shop right now. But I promise it will be up soon!
Mabel's dream.
No, correction, Mabel's NIGHTMARE.
Dipper could see his twin cowering on stage, pursued by Bill. Except this time Bill was still controlling Dipper's ruined form. Dripping blood from his mouth and wounds, limbs bent all wrong, he staggered ever nearer like the most terrifying sort of zombie. And all the while, those lamp like eyes and Cheshire grin never left his face. His teeth were pointed, not as they had been in life, and the blood bubbled and sprayed from in between them as he walked closer, and closer...
And in an instant all of this was whirled away to be replaced by... A warm, golden space, empty save for Dipper and Mabel.
Looking down, Dipper realized that no more was he tinted blue and translucent. He was whole again.
"Dipper?" Mabel asked, voice cracking questioningly as she got to her feet and wiped away some of the tear tracks on her face.
"Mabel!" He shouted her name so ridiculously happily that she couldn't help but give him a massive smile. Running over, she threw her arms around him in a real, genuine, non-awkward-sibling hug. She was practically crushing the life out of him, but he didn't care.
"Did... Did you scare off that nightmare?" she finally managed when she sat back to look at him. He took a seat on the ground opposite her.
"I'm not sure. I don't think I'm scary enough to drive off nightmares, but... Maybe I'm a comforting presence." He gave her arm a playful shove as they'd often done in the waking world.
"Probably," she replied, laughing, overjoyed just to [i]see[/i] him again. "But how are you here? I mean I saw you... Is this all in my head? Am I making this up?"
Dipper had never heard Mabel ask so many serious questions all at once.
"No, you're not, I promise." He sat in front of her, crosslegged. "Remember how I talked to you through a sock puppet?"
"Yeah," she remembered, laughing even through her pain. His tiny puppet face had been ridiculous, after all.
"Well, I'm still stuck in this 'Mindscape' or whatever, but all the puppets are gone. So I didn't know how to talk to you guys... I... I almost went back into my body to say goodbye." He smiled a little. "I thought it would be the last chance I got."
"I'm glad you didn't, you dork. We woulda lost you forever!" Only with a lot of willpower did she resist hugging him again.
"Me too." He paused, thinking. "Well, I followed you guys home... And when you fell asleep there was this orb over your head and I touched it and now I'm here," he finished in a rush.
"And I'm glad you are," Mabel added. Then she asked, "what's it like, being all ghosty 'n stuff?"
In the relaxed, calming atmosphere, Dipper couldn't help but laugh. "Very weird, Mabel. Okay floating is sorta kinda cool, but... Yeah I'd rather stick to having a body."
"Me too. Then I can drink Mabel Juice and eat nachos!"
"And those reasons too," he agreed. "But that's why I'm here. You've gotta help me!"
"Help you get your body back?" She cocked her head.
Dipper nodded. "Yeah! You've got to go through the journal and see if there's anything on healing or ghosts other than the category stuff."
"The one you're always reading?"
"Yes the one you stole when we found the actual founder of the town and drew yourself folding the map into a hat in. The one you drew a diagram of me kissing Mermando in when we swapped bodies. The one I've been reading all summer!" He gave her a look.
She laughed a bit. "You saw all that, huh?"
"Mabel I've read the whole thing eight times. Yes I saw all that!" Dipper couldn't bring himself to feel as mad as he had when he'd first seen that she'd used some of the precious pages practically as a diary. In fact, he couldn't bring himself to be mad at all. He was only happy to see her again. "But none of that matters now, you got to use the black light and comb the pages for something I've missed! I don't remember every word of what it said... Maybe there's something on how to heal bad injuries that I missed." He sincerely hoped the coded pages didn't contain something... He had no idea how to crack the encryptions and had no desire to even think about the word 'cipher.'
"Well okay, I can do that for you, bro-bro," Mabel said, smiling. "And maybe I'll finally understand why you're obsessed with that moldy old book."
"It might smell like centipedes but it contains all the mysteries of this town!" Dipper protested. "Well, a lot of them anyways."
"You and your mystery hunting. I like it too, but only you," she poked him in the ribs, "would need a book to tell you how to do it."
"Yeah yeah," he said, waving away her hand. "But... Thanks, Mabel. I'm really happy you'll help me."
"You're my brother you goof, why wouldn't I help you?" Then she paused and rubbed her arm. "Yeah, I was kinda wrapped up in the summer romance thing... Sorry about that... I was too late..."
"Better late than never," he responded, trying to stay upbeat. She smiled at him gratefully.
"For now do you want me to make another Dipper puppet? Then you can talk to me during the day."
Shaking his head no wasn't easy for Dipper. "Bill could maybe possess it and do more awful stuff. Plus... Well, Grunkle Stan may think that you're trying to recreate me, and if he sees you talking to a puppet... Well, he may think you've lost your marbles." He winced. She actually seemed to understand, though.
"Yeah, that might freak him out even more. But I gotta tell him you're still around."
"What?! No, he'll never believe you!" Dipper protested, shaking his head vehemently.
Mabel looked him in the eyes,serious for once. "I gotta! Dipper, if he calls Mom and Dad and tells them you died you coming back would be a mess! For all we know you could be taken away and become a science experiment!"
Dipper realized quickly that she was right. Completely and absolutely right. "O-okay," he managed, nodded. "You're right. Just... Try not to make it sound too weird."
"You got it." She smiled again.
Little did either of them know, the time to wake was approaching. Time passed quicker in the Dreamscape, as they'd come to figure out soon enough.
ΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔ
"Mabel, wake up kiddo." Stan was standing next to her bed awkwardly, poking her with one hand and carrying a plate of food in the other. "I made you breakfast."
"Wha?" Mabel blinked her eyes open blearily. "Oh. Morning Grunkle Stan." The happy light had faded from her eyes as soon as her dream world winked out, taking Dipper with it.
That didn't go unnoticed. Stan saw the spark fade from his great niece's eyes the second she woke up. Either she'd forgotten what happened for a second... Or she'd been dreaming of Dipper.
"Morning. I thought maybe you'd be hungry." He set the tray on her lap. "I made too much food and needed the exercise." He always had an excuse for everything. And everyone knew he hated exercise so he had to be faking.
Mabel only then, with a plan in her head and peace in her heart, realized how hungry she was. The eggs and toast didn't last long, and Stan was very happy that she ate something. Laying the tray of dirty cutlery aside, he sighed. "Okay kiddo, can you explain about the whole 'Dipper being possessed' thing? Ya kinda promised." He didn't want to push her, but yes, he was extremely curious.
He wanted to know exactly what had killed his nephew.
Mabel took a deep breath and launched into the tale of Bipper, or at least what she knew of it. She didn't know how he got that way, she said, only that he was stuck watching hopelessly when the lights and the day came crashing down. Stan listened with more and more shock and horror. He had no choice but to believe her. She might make up ridiculous stories sometimes, but he could tell she wasn't lying... He began asking questions as Mabel filled in the gaps.
During all this, Dipper himself was on his bed. Well, hovering over it. He was simply listening, quietly whispering corrections to his own story under his breath and answering his Grunkle's questions, even if neither person could hear him.
"Yes I was there the whole time. I got this way by making a stupid deal. Yes Mabel I did try to help you escape the fireworks but I couldn't. N-no, I'm...not in any pain."
That last question had been Stan's, who sighed. "Wish I could ask the kid myself."
Mabel looked at him, then over in the space she guessed her twin to be.
"You know that all this magical and supernatural stuff exists, right?" she asked with slight hesitation.
"Yeah, I told you two after the zombie attack. Remember?" Stan was almost lost in thought.
"Well, he's still here. Dipper, I mean. He's... Stuck in this Mindscape place that Bill came from. He can only talk to us if he has a body... Or in our dreams. I'm guessing though right now, he somewhere in this room." Since Stan was gaping and not speaking, Mabel continued. "He said that he didn't die 'cuz he wasn't in his body when it... Stopped working. So he's stuck until I find a way to fix him." She looked at him with sad puppy-dog eyes. "You'll help, right?"
Stan was completely dumbfounded. His nephew was still alive, but trapped in some weird ethereal reality? Now he was extra angry. That Bill character who had tried to sabotage his life had done this to Dipper. He wanted revenge.
"Of course I'll help." He ruffled her hair, then turned to the empty bed. "And, uh..." He felt rather silly, but he had to trust Mabel. "Uh kid, Dipper, if you're there... Sorry we couldn't help fast enough. But now we're on the case. We'll fix it. Fix you. We'll be back to watching Duck-Tective together before you know it."
There was no response, but then again he hadn't expected one. So with one last look at Mabel, he carried the breakfast tray downstairs. He was breathing sort of heavily. He was so extremly relieved that he hadn't called the twins' parents yet. That would've been a hot mess...
Last night had had felt too winded, too utterly in shock to call. Plus... Well, he hasn't wanted to believe it himself. Sitting in the dark kitchen alone, after Mabel had left, he'd actually cried. For the first time in what felt like an eternity. He hadn't know what to do, what to say... Should he act like things were normal? Should he crack fake jokes or stay serious? What was Mabel's coping mechanism?
He knew, he'd known his whole life, that some people, when tragedy struck, preferred to only let out there emotions when they were alone and try to continue on normally in public. He was one of those people. But what if Mabel was the other sort? What if she wore her sad emotions on the sleeves of her homemade sweaters and would see his behavior as insensitive to her late brother?
Stan was genuinely scared. He didn't want to lose her to despair, depression, or anger at both the situation or himself. So he just say there, worrying uncharacteristically until morning.
But now... Now there was a possible way out. Stan still felt like he should've asked more questions, been more skeptical, but... He wanted badly to believe this to be true. It was the miracle he'd silently been hoping for all along. And if it turned out to be false... He knew he'd be crushed. But if it was really true (like he was bent on believing), and he brushed it off as fantasy?
He'd never forgive himself.
For now, though, he simply went back downstairs to figure out what to do next.
ΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔΔ
"Okay so let's look in this nerd book," Mabel breathed to herself as she grabbed the journal from her ruined sweater. Finding her brother's black light took more time, but eventually she found it underneath his bed. "Dipper you need to clean up after yourself," she protested as she wiggles out backwards from the dust-bunny-laden world underneath her twin's bed. "You must have a full bathtub's worth of chewed pens under there!"
While there was no response, she knew that he'd probably heard her. "First thing we're doing when we get you back. Hey I should make a list!" With that thought in her head, still in her pajamas, she sat crosslegged on her own bed and began flipping through the pages, Waddles still asleep at her side.
She swept the light over the pages on ghosts. Nothing on restoring them to a human body. (Actually, not much of any useful info at all.) But Mabel dutifully flipped from page to page, finding some of it interesting but some of it boring. She got about halfway through without the black light, and was going to comb back through, when she heard a commotion downstairs. Curiosity got the better of her and she needed a break anyways, so she climbed down the stairs.
"I don't wanna talk to you reporter lady!" Grunkle Stan was shouting. Mabel walked by just in time to see him slam the door, looking angry.
"Why was there a reporter here?" she asked.
"Asking questions about your brother," Stan grunted. "I wasn't gonna give her an interview on what happened, that's for sure."
Mabel breathed a sigh of relief. "Wait... How did she know that something bad happened?"
"Kid, half the town knows he at least got hurt. Surprisingly enough, only a few people know... what really happened." He didn't want to use the word 'dead.' Dipper wasn't dead, just... Stuck.
"And she wanted to know what happened?" Stan nodded a yes in reply.
"But don't worry. I ain't telling no one."
Mabel nodded and peeked out a window. The yard was clear, save for Soos doing some tune-ups on the golf cart. She needed a break for the paranormal info swirling around in her head. Sighing, she opened the door and went to sit on the porch, but not before running inside to get a Popsicle. Her and Dipper had enjoyed reading the jokes on the sticks to each other... Maybe she's read the one she got out loud.
"Hey Mabel," Soos said as he walked over. "How're ya doin'?" He sounded uncertain and was uncharacteristically serious.
Mabel shrugged. "I'm okay." The warm glow of having a plan this morning was vaguely diminished by her lack of luck. But no way was she giving up yet.
"Good," Soos replied. "Dipper... He was a good dude." He didn't manage to say any more than that on the subject. Still rather too subdued, he said, "wanna help me with the Mystery Cart at all?"
Mabel nodded and stood up, putting the Popsicle stick into her pocket for later. Hopping down the steps, she walked over to where he was standing. Peering into the engine that he was tuning up, she wondered whether to tell him the truth about her brother's demise. (Or not-so-demise.) With the unhappy look on his face, she thought that maybe she should, but...
Mabel decided that she'd wait a bit. Soos had been known to spill the beans on secrets before, so, as much as it hurt to keep him in the dark, she wouldn't tell him at the moment.
"See, you twist this thing, which tightens that thing," he muttered, tapping a bolt with the wrench he was holding. Mabel nodded like the understood, then took a step back.
Crinkle
Looking down, the girl noticed that she had stepped on a small sheet of what looked like notebook paper. Weird, bold handwriting slashed the paper, as if the writer had wielded a pen like an inky sword. When she picked it up, her hand began trembling, and she was unsure as of why...
This was what she read:
NOTE TO SELF: POSSESSING PEOPLE IS HILARIOUS! TO THINK OF ALL THE SENSATIONS I'VE BEEN MISSING OUT ON- BURNING, STABBING, DROWNING. IT'S LIKE A BUFFET TRAY OF FUN! ONCE I DESTROY THAT JOURNAL, I'LL ENJOY GIVING THIS BODY ITS GRAND FINALE- BY THROWING IT OFF THE WATER TOWER! BEST OF ALL, PEOPLE WILL JUST THINK PINE TREE LOST HIS MIND AND HIS MENTAL FORM WILL WANDER IN THE MINDSCAPE FOREVER. WANT TO JOIN HIM, SHOOTING STAR?
Her blood chilled.
This had all been part of a plan. Bill hadn't moved when the metal fell on purpose. It hadn't been quite the ending her had imagined but still...
It had been deliberate.
Scrunching the note in her fist, Mabel marched back indoors, leaving a confused Soos behind.
She'd fix this.
Then, her and her brother, together, would deal with Bill Cipher once and for all.