So this was originally supposed to be a oneshot, except after it reached twenty pages it took on a will of its own and became a multi-chapter. I'm a bit unsure of how I've split this up, but ah well. Here's part 2!
(Also, I am definitely NOT a doctor, so suspension of disbelief may come in handy for anything medical :P)
If there was anything Dipper learned from his experiences in Gravity Falls, it's that abruptly waking up with no idea where you are is never a good sign.
Waking up to find out you're hanging upside down and your head is trying to tear itself in two is probably worse.
Crack.
Dipper groaned, eyes flickering open. The world hung upside down, a swaying scene of twisted metal and shattered glass barely visible in the darkness. Confused, he tugged at the source of a tightness around his chest, pinioning him against smooth leather.
A flash of lightning lit the sky, giving Dipper a brief glance of their predicament.
Memory came crashing back abruptly, and Dipper jerked up – only to fall back with a moan as his head pounded in agony, nausea filling him as the world tilted dizzingly.
"Ughh."
Dipper felt a wave of relief as Mabel's groan echoed near him.
"Mabel," he ground out, eyes still clenched tight at the pain in his head. "Mabel, you okay?"
"Mmm – yeah, I think so," she moaned, a tinkling of glass echoing through the car as she moved. "Did you guys see that?"
"You mean whatever idiot decided to slam into us?"
Another surge of relief swept through Dipper as Pacifica's unmistakable tones sounded from just behind him.
"Felt like a freaking tank," she continued, in an angry mutter.
"That was not a vehicle that hit us," Dipper muttered, yanking at his seatbelt where it was caught in the twisted metal. "Paz, you alright?"
"I'm fine," she said, sounding annoyed, but otherwise unharmed. "Just -mph- a little squished back here."
"Gimme a second," Dipper said, finally giving up on the seat belt as he reached for the hunting knife he'd fortunately remembered to wear this morning.
"On it!"
There was a crack of glass as Mabel dropped out of her seat, landing on the mangled truck's ceiling with a grunt. She shook her head, crawling on her knees as she moved to help Pacifica.
"Good thing we all wore our seat belts!" she said cheerily, tugging at the busted seat pinning Pacifica in place.
"Yeah, good thing," Dipper muttered, slicing through his seat belt and dropping out of his seat with a yelp. He rubbed his head, cursing his long legs for once as he was forced to contort in the small space.
"Got it!"
He heard Pacifica breathe a sigh of relief as Mabel yanked her free, dropping lightly onto the mangled roof beside them.
"What now?" she asked, looking at Dipper.
"We get the heck out," Dipper said, kicking at the remaining glass in the wind shield. He shimmied out of the truck awkwardly, turning back to hold out his hand to pull the other two out. Mabel squeezed his hand as she slid out, patting him on the back as she stumbled out into the night air. Pacifica was next, grasping his hand as she pulled herself out gingerly, her other hand gripping something tightly.
She finally yanked her legs out, shoving herself away from the car. Dipper gave a small grin as she shook her head, tiny shards of glass raining from her blond hair. Pacifica rolled her eyes, shoving the thing she'd been gripping into his hands before she jumped to her feet.
Despite the pounding in his head, Dipper smiled at the blue and white fabric, brushing shards of glass off the hat before he placed it firmly back on his head, pushing himself up to the join the girls in surveying the truck.
"Oooooh, Grunkle Stan is not gonna be happy about this one," Mabel said weakly. Dipper groaned.
The truck was so dented and smashed it hardly resembled the vehicle Stan had lent them for the summer. Though considering the sheer amount of damage it had taken from all the flipping and rolling Dipper had felt, it was a miracle in and of itself that they were alive. Speaking of which…
"Holy crap," Dipper gaped. "That thing tossed us all the way down the freaking ravine."
The two girls followed his gaze, staring up the steep incline that led to the road. There was a neat path of snapped branches and bent trees where the truck had smashed through.
"How are we even alive," Pacifica murmured faintly.
"Luck," Mabel said, staring back at the dented truck. "We've got lots of luck."
"Okay," Dipper said, taking a breath as he began assessing the situation. "First things first - anyone hurt?"
"A couple bruises, and my hair's wrecked," Pacifica muttered unhappily. "But I'm fine. Are you?"
Dipper reached up to his head, relieved at the absence of blood and the fading pain. "Hit my head on the way down, but it's not bleeding, so I should be fine. Mabel?"
"Just a few nicks from the dumb glass," Mabel said. Dipper frowned at the forced cheer in her voice.
"Mabel-"
"Also," Mabel said unsteadily. "I think I my head might be bleeding. Just a little bit, haha."
Dipper turned to Mabel in alarm, his hands flying to her head immediately.
"Ow, ow, ow," Mabel hissed, as his fingers brushed her hair back gently. His stomach dropped as his fingertips came back stained with blood.
"Oh, no, Mabel-"
"Here," Pacifica snapped, brushing him out of the way. "Freaking out doesn't help. Let someone who actually came out of Health class with a decent grade handle this."
Dipper swallowed, nodding as he took a step back. Pacifica eased Mabel onto the ground, leaning her back against a tree.
"It doesn't look that bad, actually," she said, biting her lip as she squinted at the wound. "Head wounds bleed a lot, so it looks worse than it is. I think if we just bandage it for now, you should be fine."
"I'll get the kit," Dipper muttered, darting back to the truck and yanking the red and white box out from under a mangled seat.
"Thanks, Doctor Pacifica," Mabel said, smirking, as Dipper handed Pacifica the first-aid kit.
"Hush," Pacifica muttered, rooting through the kit. Dipper hovered near his twin, hands twisting into his hat anxiously.
"Stop that, you're making me nervous," Pacifica said, giving him a half-hearted glare. "Here," she continued, handing him her battered cell phone. "See if you can find any service."
"As you wish, your highness," he muttered, but he rose, squeezing Mabel's shoulder as he swiped at Pacifica's phone, wandering in what he hoped was the direction of a cell tower.
"C'mon, c'mon," Dipper muttered, glaring at the phone as another flash of lightning lit the sky. He raised the phone above his head, disappointed as the tiny bars remained nonexistent. He continued to move forwards, phone tilted to the sky as he prayed for the blasted bars to make an appearance. He opened Pacifica's contacts, selecting Stan's and pressing call.
The screen neatly informed him that there was no service in the area.
"I know that, stupid phone," Dipper muttered, resisting the urge to throw it at the ground in frustration. He sighed, glancing at the dense forest on one side of them, the steep, jagged ravine on the other. Walking aimlessly forwards, he began fiddling with the phone again, in vain hopes of receiving even the slightest of signals.
The sky was an ominous yellow by now, the dark forest cast in its eerie glow. Dipper gave the sky a wary glance as lightning flashed again, brushing through the dark-berried bushes as he glared at the phone.
He was still staring at the tiny square of light when he heard it.
The voice echoing through the woods was soft and smooth, singing in unidentifiable lyrics – and beautiful.
Scarily beautiful.
"You guys hear that?" Dipper asked, frowning as he listened. There was no reply from Mabel or Pacifica. He turned to look at them, and was immediately alarmed when he realized he'd wandered out of their sights.
Shaking his head, he moved to retrace his steps – only to realize he had no idea where he'd come from.
Dipper frowned, rubbing his aching head as the voice reached him again, its ethereal tones echoing through the woods.
It was the most beautiful voice he'd ever heard.
A tiny voice in the back at his head was screaming at him that this was a bad thing. Something stirred in his mind against the growing fog, old stories and myths about sirens and witches and-
Dipper shook his head again, frowning as his thoughts scattered apart. The voice continued to echo in his ears, filling his head and driving all other thoughts away. His feet began moving of their own accord, as if dragged slowly forwards by some unseen force.
The tiny voice in his head was screaming at him now, growing fainter as the singing choked it out. Dipper frowned. There was someone –
– there was something he needed to remember-
The voice grew louder, and everything else ceased to exist.
"There you go," Pacifica said, finishing off the bandage now plastered around Mabel's head. "That should cover it for now. We got lucky, it's not really that bad at all."
"Thank you, Nurse Northwest," Mabel said, patting the bandages with a grin. Pacifica rolled her eyes.
"Just because I pay attention in health class doesn't make me a medical professional," she sniffed. "And I liked doctor better."
"Sure, sure," Mabel said. "Hey, Dipper, look, 'cifica fixed me up!"
Considering Dipper's former anxiety, Pacifica was surprised at the lack of an answer.
"Huh," Mabel said, frowning as she rose to her feet. "Where'd he go?"
Pacifica felt her stomach turn, whipping around. Dipper was nowhere to be seen.
"You've got to be kidding me," she muttered, breaking into a brisk walk. "Dipper?"
"Dipper!" Mabel called from beside her, looking around the forest in concern. "Where'd you go, bro-bro?"
"I just asked him to find a cell phone signal," Pacifica said, not enjoying the growing cold in her chest. "He couldn't have gone far."
Mabel came to a sudden halt, staring at her feet.
"Mabel?"
Mabel shook her head, bending down to grab something from the leaf-strewn ground.
"This is your phone, right?" she asked Pacifica, her voice shaky. Pacifica took the phone from Mabel wordlessly, her fears confirmed as her fingers ran over the familiar casing. She met Mabel's eyes, both girls silent.
"Shit," she muttered, just as Mabel broke into a run.
"Dipper!" she yelled, fear lacing her voice. "Dipper!"
Pacifica trailed behind her, swallowing against the icy fear in her chest. The forest lit up with another flash of lightning, followed by an ominous boom of thunder that did nothing for her nerves. The dropped cell phone could mean any manner of things. Dipper was fine.
He had better be.
"Mabel," she gasped out, as she struggled to keep up with the more athletic girl. "Mabel, we need to stop and think-"
The rest of Pacifica's sentence was cut off as both girls ground to a halt, frozen by the sudden voice echoing through the woods. Mabel glanced at her, eyes wide.
"Do you hear-"
"Yeah," she said, head whipping around. "It sounds like-"
The singing grew louder, echoing through the woods with an almost painful beauty. Pacifica felt her mind grow heavy, her thoughts colliding and melting together as the voice drummed through her skull.
She opened her mouth, meaning to warn Mabel, but nothing came out, her limbs growing heavy as the singing filled her ears. The world tilted, her head growing dizzy as she felt her feet moving forwards of their own accord, drifting closer to the beautiful singing-
"Pacifica!"
A hand circled around her wrist, jerking her back and ripping her from the daze. She stumbled backwards, the hand on her wrist unyielding as she was dragged back through the forest, away from the voice.
"Wha-"
"Here!"
Pacifica felt Mabel tugging at her hands, pulling them up the clap over her ears. The singing was immediately muffled, and Pacifica felt the world snap back into focus. Mabel stared at her, eyes wide as she covered her own ears.
"You good?" Mabel yelled, leaning in to her face. Pacifica nodded, still shaky.
"Okay, we need to go back!"
Pacifica nodded again, following Mabel as she sprinted back through the woods. The singing faded as they ran, her thoughts growing clearer with every step away from the haunting voice. They finally reached the wrecked truck, stumbling into the clearing and uncovering their ears.
"What – what was that?" Pacifica gasped, bracing her hands on her knees.
"I'm not sure," Mabel said, rubbing her head. "It sounded kinda like those mermaids that lure you to your death, only in the woods."
"Sirens," Pacifica offered, shuddering as she remembered the otherworldly tones. "Do you think that's where Dipper…"
"Oh, yeah," Mabel said, face darkening. "I'm pretty sure that's what took him."
Pacifica met her hard gaze.
"Then we need to go back."
"Yup," Mabel said, determined. "No creepy siren voice gets to take my brother and get away with it. But we're gonna need something first."
"Earplugs?" Pacifica said, watching as Mabel crawled back into the wrecked truck.
"I was gonna say the Journal," Mabel said, voice muffled as she rooted through the back of the truck. "But earplugs are a pretty good idea."
"Too bad none of us carry them on demand," Pacifica muttered, sifting through the first-aid kit.
"Here," Mabel said, pulling out of the truck, Journal in hand. She promptly ripped off a strip of her sweater. Pacifica gaped at the destruction of one of Mabel's beloved creations.
"What?" Mabel said, tearing off another strip. "It's not like it wasn't already ruined, anyways." She gestured to the torn, bloodstained sweater. "Besides, there's more where this one came from."
"That, I can believe," Pacifica said, as Mabel handed her the strip of fabric. "Are we using this as earplugs, or what?"
"I was thinking more cute head-bands," Mabel said, tying the thick fabric over her ears. It vaguely resembled a bright pink war headband.
"And this'll work?" Pacifica said, tying the fabric over her ears. She was surprised at the sudden absence of noise, sound muffled and near-muted by the thick fabric. Mabel gave her a thumbs-up, pulling her headband off.
"My sweaters are magic," she said, grinning. She turned her attention to the Journal. "Now let's see what we're dealing with."
"Try sirens," Pacifica suggested, as the girls flipped through the worn, ink-stained pages.
"All of them are sea-dwelling," Mabel said, frustrated. "I don't see anything about – oh, here we go! Voice hypnotism, charmed singing –"
"That one," Pacifica said, stopping Mabel as she pointed at an entry. "The ghost witch."
"Of the many ghost witches I have come across in my adventures, the most troublesome was the ogress and ghost witch, Asin," Mabel read, squinting at the pages in the darkness. "First identified by the Alsea tribe, this ghost witch is a forest-dwelling cannibal that lures her victims into the woods with her beautiful and bewitching singing."
"That sounds about right," Pacifica muttered.
"After luring her victims into her trap, Asin will attempt to-'" Mabel cut off, swallowing. Pacifica stared at her. "-will attempt to devour them, body and soul."
As if nature itself was mocking them, another flash of lightning punctuated the words.
"We need to go now," Pacifica said, shooting to her feet.
"Right, right," Mabel said, eyes flicking across the page desperately. "It says here the best way to defeat her is by burning her-"
"Perfect," Pacifica said, rummaging through the wrecked carrier on the back of the truck. She grunted as she pulled a red canister of gasoline free. "Do you have matches?"
"Better," Mabel said, snapping the Journal closed and unzipping her backpack. "I've got, like, six lighters."
"Okay," Pacifica said, tugging at her makeshift headband and hefting the gasoline can. "Let's go save my dumb boyfriend."
Mabel nodded, reaching to pull her headband on, when she froze.
"Do you hear that?" she asked, face paling.
Pacifica stiffened as she heard it, faint but growing louder against the scattered cracks of thunder – the same low, guttural hissing she'd heard just before the truck had flipped. She exchanged a fearful glance with Mabel, rooted to the spot as the hissing grew louder.
"What do you think-"
Mabel just shook her head, eyes wide. Her lips mouthed a single word, but no sound came out.
"Mabel?!"
"Run," Mabel gasped, stumbling. "Run, run!"
Pacifica needed no second encouragement. She turned on her heel, bursting into a sprint besides Mabel. And not a moment too soon – two seconds later, the trees behind them snapped and toppled as a huge, dark-scaled serpent, much bigger than a tank, burst into the clearing, its red eyes sweeping across the forest. Pacifica almost froze as its demonic eyes landed on them, hissing loudly as it surged forwards. Its fangs glinted in the lightning, larger than her arm.
Pacifica did what any other human being would have done in that situation - she screamed and began running faster.
"What do we do?" she shrieked at Mabel as they sprinted through the dark woods, the massive snake drawing closer and closer behind them, wood cracking as it plowed through the trees.
"Lose it!" Mabel yelled back as she dodged fallen branches, eyes wild.
"How?!"
"We need to – look out!"
Pacifica dove to the side just as the snake's head plunged down, fangs snapping at where they had just been. She caught sight of Mabel on the other side of the snake, stumbling to her feet.
"Split up!" she yelled, gesturing at her. "Go!"
The snake turned to her, its crimson eyes glaring at her in the darkness. Pacifica suppressed a whimper, stumbling to her feet. There was no way she'd be able to outrun it.
"Hey! Fat snake jerk!"
The snake's head whipped around, hissing as it glared at Mabel.
"Yeah, that's right!" the girl yelled fiercely. "Come and get me!"
The snake hissed loudly, slithering forwards as Mabel took off sprinting through the forest, zig-zagging through the trees. Pacific stood, panting, for a minute, staring after them with wide eyes.
I almost got eaten by a giant snake, was her first thought.
My best friend's about to get eaten by a giant snake, was her second.
Pacifica sprang into action, sprinting after Mabel and the snake, the path clearly marked by the wrecked trees. Her chest burned as she ran, trying to ignore the choking hopelessness. How was she supposed to save Mabel from that? She couldn't even save herself. She felt a fierce longing for Dipper – he would know exactly what to do in this situation, exactly how to save his sister. Dipper was the brains of the team, the one with the strategies – and Pacifica was simply that much more confident with him at her side.
Except he wasn't now. Pacifica was left sprinting after a killer snake chasing her best friend by herself with no plan because her stupid boyfriend, her rock, had gone and gotten himself kidnapped by a ghost witch.
She was going to kill him when they found him.
Mabel's scream echoed through the forest, and Pacifica felt her blood run cold. She pushed herself forwards, ignoring the burning in her legs as she stumbled out of the woods and onto a clearing, the ground ahead of her disappearing over the sharp cliff edge. Her heart froze as she caught sight of Mabel, just ducking the snake's jaws, her hair inches from the snapping fangs. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Pacifica, clutching at her sleeve, which Pacifica noticed was slowly turning red.
The snake apparently noticed Mabel's gaze as well, its smoldering eyes turning on Pacifica. She swallowed, backing closer towards the cliff edge.
"Pacifica, run!" Mabel yelled, her voice cracking. The snake swept its tail as her, forcing her to dive forwards with a shriek. It continued advancing on Pacifica, its eyes cold and hungry.
Pacifica continued stumbling back, her throat dry as she shook. This was it, she thought faintly, stumbling over the rocky ground. She was going to die at the jaws of a giant, evil snake.
Crack.
A blindingly brilliant flash of lightning sliced directly in front of her, forcing her back with a scream as the snake shrieked. An ear-splitting boom of thunder shook the earth as the ground beneath Pacifica crumbled, the cliff edge now unable to support both her weight and the crushing weight of the serpent.
She came to her wits just in time to throw herself forwards as the cliff edge crumbled entirely, the giant snake shrieking and writhing as it fell. Pacifica's hand scraped desperately at the eroding earth as she slid backwards, fingernails tearing as she clawed for a handhold before she followed the snake.
A firm hand clamped around her wrist, her fall jerking to an abrupt halt. Pacifica looked up to see Mabel, wide-eyed and wild-haired but grinning tightly.
"Gotcha," she said, reaching her other hand down to pull her up. Pacifica collapsed to the firm ground, nearly weeping with relief.
"Good one," she gasped, still shaking. "Really, really good one, Mabel."
"I wouldn't let you fall, silly," Mabel said, leaning over the cliff edge. "You think that did it?"
"I hope so," Pacifica said shakily, staying exactly where she was. She had no desire to look at what could have been her grave.
"Whoo, that was pretty crazy!" Mabel laughed, half-hysterically. "I mean, I thought we were gonna die!"
"I almost did!" Pacifica shrieked, her system still running high on adrenaline. "That was insane! I almost died!"
"Yeah, but you didn't," Mabel said, standing and offering her a hand. "Now think of what a great story you have to tell!"
Pacifica took her hand, pulling herself up and staring at her. She shuddered.
"Stories," she muttered, rubbing her hands together, attempting to quell the shaking. She glanced at Mabel again. "Oh my gosh – your arm!"
"Ah, it's nothing!" Mabel said, rubbing at her bloodied sleeve somewhat sheepishly. "I just ran into some branches a bit too hard. Y'know, running from a giant snake! Don't really look where you're going, haha."
Pacifica shook her head.
"We are getting that looked at the second we get out of here," she said. "At least wrap your sweater around it, or something."
"Okay, okay, yeesh," Mabel said, tearing another strip of her sweater off. She was shifting in agitation. "But we need to go."
"Dipper," Pacifica said, anxiety curling in her chest as she remembered.
"Dipper," Mabel said, face set in determination. Pacifica spared the cliff another glance.
"We're gonna need more gasoline."