"Mabel, wake up, it's almost time for school!"
Mabel awoke from her dreams, called back into the waking world. Then a dreadful realization hit her. She remembered everything that had happened during the dream, and her promise to free her brother. Mabel hurried and got dressed before running down the stairs for breakfast.
Elsewhere
"He's fighting everything."
"Then put him through more. This child defeated Bill Cipher. I will not allow this shame to continue."
California
"Hey, Mabel."
"Sophia. How's it going?"
"Pretty good, and you seem to be in a better mood."
"I try. I mean, you can't cry forever, right?"
"I know. I was wondering, if maybe you wanted to hang out later?"
"Can't; I have a project I have to work on after school."
"Oh, what is it?"
"Eh, nothing really."
"Come on, you can tell me."
Mabel turned and looked Sofia straight in the eyes.
"I will attempt to penetrate the realm of dreams through a dark séance that could possibly lead to an encounter with an unfathomable eldritch horror beyond human comprehension."
Sofia started laughing.
"It is pretty funny, isn't it?"
Four hours later
Mabel had rushed through the rest of her classes, barely paying any attention to what the teachers had to say. She came home and had come running up the stairs to prepare to enter the dreamscape, only to find her mother waiting at the top.
"Mabel, I think we need to talk."
"No, I need to get in my room."
"Mabel, why were Dipper's clothes in your room?"
"… I was using it to help find him."
Mabel's mother sighed as she held her head.
"Mabel, there is nothing you can do."
"Yes there is! Come here, I'll show you."
Mabel dragged her mother into her room and picked up the book.
"Mom, look at this. This book shows you how to go into dreams. I've been there; I've been with Dipper."
Mabel's mother started crying.
"Mabel, please stop."
"No! I didn't just dream about meeting him, I met him in my dreams. I saw his memories; I saw things that I couldn't have seen, but that he saw."
"This isn't real! He's gone!"
Mabel went silent as her mother knocked the book out of her hand. Mabel glared before she picked it back up and walked off.
"Just because you've given up hope doesn't mean I have."
Mabel took the book and sat on the bed.
"Mom, you should go."
Mabel's mother left, crying as she slammed the door.
The dreamscape
Dipper started running. He could feel his mind fading a second time, possibly forever. He couldn't let everything fade again. He called out into the endless abyss. He tried to escape his own torment, his mind fleeing subconsciously into infinity. It felt like he was falling. He looked down to see his world shrinking, as if he was falling off the earth. He continued, brushing past stars and comets and watching other worlds pass him by, filled with strange creatures that defied explanation. Some were no larger than a man, and other's towered above all the mountains of earth. And he continued falling, watching as stars, then galaxies faded from view. Then he watched as the entire universe vanished into blackness. And then he landed.
He was in a blank landscape; piercing white light surrounded him, except for a small shadow in front of him. It moved forward, shifting into the shade of a human sitting on nothing.
"Hello... friend."
"Wh-what?"
Dipper stood up as the landscape came into view. His own memories fell around him, crashing into the ground with thunder. He was back in Gravity Falls, except the shadowy figure remained, watching him.
"Who… who are you?" Dipper cried out.
"A better question is, who are you?"
"Are you the one that took me?!"
The shade began to laugh, and its laugh echoed throughout the infinite abyss, as if an entire universe was mocking Dipper.
"You called me. Not everyone has psychic potential like that. So the question remains, who are you?"
"My name is Dipper Pines. I think… I think I've been captured. I feel pain every moment."
The creature yawned.
"Boring."
"What?"
"Your types always call for help, and then you give me the same boring sob story."
The creature began mock crying.
"Oh help me, I'm drowning! Oh God, no, I'm on fire! Help me, I've awakened a million year old demon and it's eating my galaxy!"
The creature leaned back in its invisible chair.
"You know, for being one of my favorite species, you humans are quite dull when you want to make a deal. You always offer me your souls, or your eternal servitude, or someone of the opposite gender. I mean, your species invented pancakes! How can a species this amazing be so dull at the same time! SOMETIMES IT MAKES ME WANT TO KILL A GUY!"
The creatures shout seemed to tear at the fabric of the dream, piercing Dipper's subconscious. The pain from earlier was gone, now replaced by a burning feeling. It felt like Dipper's mind was on fire as his memories distorted backwards. His mind fell behind him, and in front he could see into the mind of the creature he was speaking with. A thousand fires that breached the heavens lit the background, Mushroom clouds and balls of smoke and flame moving out endlessly into the distance. Dipper looked up to see how far the fires rose, and he saw tiny balls. Millions of tiny balls, shattered, broken, and scattered across the heavens. And being connected with the dark being allowed him realize exactly what they were; planets. Millions of planets, all destroyed at the whims of an eternal god.
"How… how many planets have you destroyed?"
"I don't know, I lost count about four billion years ago."
"Why?"
"Because I'm bored. Do you have any idea what Eternity is like? It's boring. But then there are ways to have fun. That's why I allow humanity to live. One of the few species stuck in that sweet spot between barbarism and civilization. So I must ask you, are you one of the boring ones, or are you fun?"
Dipper thought long and hard about the question. He needed a way to escape, and this mad god might possibly be his only hope. A mad god, bored by infinity, and looking for ways to be entertained. Dipper decided to run with the only thing he could think of. One of Dipper's memories moved to the front.
The demonic entity watched curiously as the memory played itself.
"Well... who wants a lamby, lamby, lamby?
I do! I do!
So, go up and greet your mammy, mammy, mammy
Hi there! Hi there!
So march, march, march around the daisies,
Don't, don't, don't you forget about the baby!"
The real Dipper made a bow, as if he had just shown off a masterpiece of craftsmanship.
"…Hehe."
The mad god began clapping as its giggling fit rose into mindless laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The creature fell over on its sides as it continued laughing, thrashing about.
"Are you okay?" Dipper asked.
The creature steadied its laughter and stood, then walked over to Dipper and shook his hand.
"We have a deal. Nyarlathotep, interdimensional terrorist, anarchist, and mischief maker, at your service."
"I don't know where I am, but look for my sister Mabel in Gravity Falls, Oregon. You can help her find me!"
Dipper felt his dream world begin fading, his own memories splitting from the scene of Armageddon. Dipper could feel calm in his mind, the pain of his initial tormentors paling in comparison to being connected with the mind of an ancient monster.
"Why won't he break?!" a voice shouted angrily.
Dipper finally woke up from his long dream. He knew who he was, and he now had hope that he could be saved. He grinned to himself before he felt lashes flay the skin on his back.
Mabel's House
Mabel was quietly eating Dinner when the doorbell rang. Mabel's father opened it.
"Ah, Uncle Stan. What brings you around here?"
"I wanted to see Mabel; see how she's doing. Is she here?"
"Yes, come right in."
As Stan walked in the door, he was followed by Soos and a darkly clad stranger. The group walked into the dining room and sat down. The strange man was eyeing Mabel like a wolf stalking its prey.
"Why are you looking at my daughter like that?" Mabel's father asked accusingly.
The dark man ignored him and smiled. Mabel turned away from the creepy man and spoke to her great uncle.
"So, Grunkle Stan; what brings you down here?"
"It's a long story."
Earlier in Gravity Falls
"PINES!"
A voice shouted into the room occupied by two naked teenagers.
"Is there a Pines in here?!"
The teens screamed as they covered their bodies. The old god walked over and opened the closet as the terrified teenagers lay on the bed.
"Nope. No Pines. Well, I'll be leaving you two to your mating."
Nyarlathotep stepped out into the street, skipping the staircase and living room of the house he just violated by teleporting.
"So many doors. So little time."
Over by the mystery shack, Soos was manning the counter of the store while an old lady was paying for a useless trinket. A mysterious shape instantly appeared outside the doors and kicked them open.
"PINES!"
The scream caused the old lady to grab her chest and fall over. Soos ran over to help her reach her heart medicine while the giggling old god wandered through the store. Stan stumbled in rubbing his back to figure out what the disturbance was about.
"Is somebody shouting in here?"
As Stan came in, he spotted the strange man walking up to a selection of hats with tree markings on them.
"Uh, can I help you sir?"
The ancient god turned around, holding the hat in his hand as he chewed into it.
"Uh, do you need me to find your happy pills?" Stan asked in the nicest voice he could muster.
Nyarlathotep simply grinned, shredded fabric stuck between his teeth.
"This, sir… is a Pines hat. Where's the other?"
"The other what?"
"The other Pines. I've been… hired, and I need her to come along for the fun."
Stan grew furious and picked up a crowbar
"Where the hell is my nephew?!"
Stan swung at the strange man, who simply grabbed the piece of metal in his hand and melted it.
"I don't know where your nephew is. That's why I need the second Pines, and since you're also related to them, you get to live."
"…Who the hell are you?"
"A Mercenary. Your nephew cried out in his nightmares, and I was listening. So we made a deal."
"If you want a soul, you can have mine."
"Soul?! What do you take me for, some hackneyed goat-man?! I have no interest in mortal spirits."
"Then what the hell do you want?"
"I want the other Pines so I can free her brother from eternal torment at the hands of a monster. It's quite simple when you use your brain."
Stan grumbled in annoyance.
"I'm coming with you, and if you are who you say you are, then I won't kill you."
As the dark god put his hand out to shake Stan's hand, Soos ran over and smashed his head open with a chunk of metal.
"Fuck, Soos! That was our best chance at finding Dipper!"
Nyarlathotep began giggling as his head reformed.
"I think brain bashing is my favorite way to die as a human. So much tingly nerves. Well, shall we go Mr. Pines?"
The dark god grabbed Soos and Stan and walked with them out the door.
Mabel's house
"I'd like to hear it Grunkle Stan."
"Just forget it… I need to speak to you in private."
"Well, anything you need to say to Mabel you can say to us." Mabel's mother said.
Stan chuckled awkwardly as Mabel's father stood up and looked at the stranger.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"Sorry, can't. I've been hired by the twins."
"…what did you say?"
"I've been hired by the twins. Are you deaf?"
Mabel stood up and looked at the shadowy figure, who gave her a smile in return.
"Where's Dipper?" Mabel asked sternly.
The dark god replied by bobbing his head to a musical beat only he heard.
"What are you doing?" Mabel asked, now more confused than anything.
"Who needs their lamby, lamby, lamby
You do! You do!
So get up and greet the loony, loony, loony
Hi there! Hi there!
Then we'll march, march, march around the bodies
of our bloodied, mangled, broken enemies!"
Mabel's face distorted into a combination of anger, sadness, and confusion while her mother started crying.
The dark god giggled at the bizarre expression on Mabel's face.
"That face… I love when people make that face. Your brother contacted me, and now I need to know where he is."
He stood up and walked over to Mabel and grabbed her hand.
"Mabel, my dear… where was your brother last seen?"
"…Gravity Falls."
In a blink, Mabel, Stan, and Nyarlathotep shifted back into the mystery shack. The old lady jumped at their sudden reappearance and fainted.
"So, Miss Mabel; where, exactly, was the last spot that Dipper was seen?"
"Why do you need to know?"
"Because amateur teleportation often leaves a trail. And considering Earth isn't part of any extra-dimensional alliance, there will probably be some sign."
Mabel escorted the group out into the forest. She moved through the trees and came out into a clearing. She walked up into the same spot that Dipper vanished from.
"This is where it happened."
Nyarlathotep walked up into the circle and closed his eyes.
"Yes… that's where they've gone. Mabel, my dear… have you ever been to Romania?"
Outside, elsewhere
Two guards were patrolling the outside of the mansion when a strange group came walking up.
"Uh, sorry miss, this is private property."
They heard a scream from inside the mansion.
"Damn it." One guard said before taking out his gun and preparing to kill the witnesses.
Stan walked past Mabel and punched the guard in the face. Before the other one could respond, Nyarlathotep opened his gaping maw and tore into the guard's neck. He swallowed a chunk of flesh as the guard fell down, clutching at the hole in his neck. As the other guard stood up, Stan grabbed his gun and aimed it.
"Did you know that the man who owns this mansion is a demonic psychopath that kidnaps kids and turns them into mindless puppets?"
The guard looked down, ashamed.
"I'll take that as a yes." Stan said before pulling the trigger.
"Now, the real fun starts." The dark god said with malicious glee.
"Hey, these bastards stole my nephew. I'm going in with you. Mabel, stay here and wait for a sign."
"What sign?" Mabel asked. Nyarlathotep replied.
"When the screams and gunfire stop. Then you can follow us."
Mabel watched as the two walked past the gates, ready for battle.
"So I have to ask, Stan the man. What's your history with the pair? And what's so special about them that some two-bit demon wants them?"
"Nothing, really. They're just ordinary kids who got stuck saving the world one day. We stopped some psycho called Bill Cipher."
"Ooh, lil' Billy? How's he been? Last I checked he was making a name for himself."
"He's dead, or as dead as an evil spirit can be."
"Ah, kids these days. They grow up so fast, and then get wacked by some fleshies. Honestly, it's embarrassing. So Mister Pines, how about a competition? The one with the highest body count gets the first shot at the one in charge."
"Works for me."
Outside, Mabel was waiting. She watched as the two walked in. Several seconds later, gunfire. Then screaming. There was yelling throughout the mansion. Mabel could see through the windows as an unnatural shadow overwhelmed several guards. As it past, it left a mangled, bloody mess. Windows shattered, and strange tentacle-like appendages shot out, impaling several bodies and throwing them outside. After several minutes, the sounds of the massacre ended. Mabel decided to walk through the gates and into the manor. She opened the door to find Stan on a staircase above a large doorway, finishing off one of the armed guards and snapping his neck. There were several bodies throughout the entrance, and behind the doorway strange sounds could be heard. Nyarlathotep phased through the doors humming the Lamby Song as he twirled a chunk of bone.
"So what's your kill count, Stan? Ah, don't tell me. Pretty sure I won."
The dark god kicked the doors opened.
"So, Mabel… what do you think of my art?"
Mabel walked into the main hall, where the worst of the massacre took place. A large dining area, filled with mutilated and broken bodies. Several guards hung from the chandelier, suspended on meat hooks as they stirred slightly. Several dozen bodies were forced into a small fireplace, their limbs and bones sticking out the side as blood poured through the bottom of the fleshy mass. Several men were impaled and suspended from the walls by the bones of their comrades. And one man was left alive, shaking in the corner of the room and whimpering.
Mabel turned and hurled to the side, the stench of the bodies starting to overwhelm the room.
"…Jesus." Stan muttered.
"Never met him." Nyarlathotep said as he started walking past his carnage.
Stan and Mabel reluctantly followed, maneuvering past the bodies as they walked towards a large staircase leading down into the basement.
"Ooh, spooky. Well, ladies first." the malicious god said with a smirk as he moved out of the way. Stan walked past him and started going down the stairs. Mabel followed, with the dark god lazily walking behind. They walked down into the inner sanctum, an old dungeon lit by torches. They approached a door with a light behind it. Mabel walked up and opened the door, leading into a large room. Several robbed figures were standing with swords, ready to fight for their dark master. The old man sat upon a dark throne. And in the center of the room, chained to the floor, was Dipper.
Dipper was broken, dark symbols and ancient rites carved into his skin. Dried blood covered his torso, and he looked up weakly. When he saw who was there, he smiled.
"…Mabel." he muttered softly.
Mabel attempted to run up and grab him before Stan held her back. The dark warriors had come forward, ready to defend their prize. Stan clenched his fists and prepared to fight to the death. Then they all heard a gagging sound. Nyarlathotep made a grotesque hiccupping sound as he barfed up a sword. The blade's light burned the alien slime off it. The old god picked it up and handed the weapon over to Stan.
"Blade from the dead emperor of the Sylcoteen. Should be more than enough to help you. Now, before we get started on this little game. I must ask, why Dipper?"
The old man stood from his throne and looked down upon the dark trickster.
"An ordinary boy who got lucky and ruined a minor god? What's the point?!"
"He destroyed Bill Cipher. That boy ruined the old god. I was to be the one to destroy Bill Cipher. My ancient nemesis was killed by a human, and I could not allow this shame to continue. When you are all dead, I shall make this lowly creature into one of my elite guard."
As the dark god began giggling at the absurd reasoning behind the old man's scheme, Stan charged at one of the guards and caught it by surprise. He managed to cut the head off the robbed man while blocking the blow from another. As the other three walked towards Stan, Nyarlathotep ran at them with an insatiable bloodlust in his eyes. One of the other guards swung its sword at him, but Nyarlathotep caught it in his mouth and clamped down, shattering the blade.
Stan dueled with the other guard, closing in and punching the hooded figure in the face. Knocking it off balance, Stan took the sword and stabbed the robbed warrior but not before being stabbed himself. However, the magical blade glowed brighter, as the blood from his enemy passed through the sword and healed him, shattering the enemy's sword in two as Stan's wounds closed.
Mabel took advantage of the lull in the defenses and ran up to Dipper. She tried to carry him away, but she was forced down by the pale glow of the ancient warlock's magic.
'I will not allow you to interfere. This time, I shall take both of you!"
Stan charged up the steps and attempted to strike the vicious monster down, but he was forced back by the old man's powers. Nyarlathotep had finished his massacre of the other guards and began to walk up the stairs next to Stan, before being forced in place by the old wizard.
"I will not allow you maggots to harm me! My powers are far beyond your imagining!"
The dark god began laughing as he forced himself forward, his mortal flesh breaking and ripping at the force being pressed on it.
"Fool, you cannot defy me! I have walked the Earth since the dawn of human history. I shall not be defied by a lowly creature!"
The mad god began laughing harder as he continued walking forward. The old wizard let Stan and Mabel go, his powers now focused completely on the impossible figure marching towards him.
"You cannot defy me! I am a god!"
Nyarlathotep was now staring down the wizard and spoke.
"You are not a god… You are an infant, screaming in the dark, thinking the world belongs to you, oblivious to the true nature of existence."
"Wh… what are you?"
"There are the young gods, youthful and full of vigor, claiming the world as their own before being snuffed out. Then there are the gods behind the gods, ancient powers that can destroy worlds with a thought. And then there's me."
The ancient beast walked up; it was now right in the wizard's face, its otherworldly breath exhaling into the nostrils of its foe.
"BOO!"
The old man tripped backwards; he fell off the steps to his throne and landed below, crippled. He began crawling towards the twins. Mabel was holding her sleeping brother, weeping onto his shoulders.
"Mercy." The man said as he crawled over. Mabel simply looked at him, hate filling her eyes.
Stan and Nyarlathotep came walking back down the stairs, Stan with a stern look of vengeance and the old monster smiling, amused at the entire situation.
"Mabel, you're brother hired me. Then he gave my leash over to you, so tell me. What are your orders?"
Mabel looked up at the gleeful god as Stan came over and comforted her.
"Break him." Mabel muttered.
Nyarlathotep began clapping as he walked over to the old man. Then his skin cracked open; A fissure in his entire body, starting at his head and moving all the way down to his waist. Air began flowing from the shell in the fleshy avatar. Then it began sucking in. A hole in the fabric of creation as the air around the group was sucked into the wound in the dark god's chest. The old wizard clung to the steps desperately before being sucked in, vanishing from the universe as the hole snapped shut.
"And now, for my next trick." The god walked over and took the magic blade from the steps, then walked over to the group by the altar. He cut the chains holding Dipper down. He maneuvered the weapon into Dipper's hands, and then fell upon the blade. The human blood from Nyarlathotep's avatar seeped through the sword and entered Dipper, healing his wounds and rejuvenating his starved body. Dipper awoke with a gasp for air; his eyes darted around randomly before focusing on the source of water dripping onto his face.
"Mabel? Is that you?"
Mabel hugged her brother and squealed, happy for the first time in half a year as she cradled Dipper.
"OhmyGodIthoughtIwouldneverseeyougainareyouokayyoustillaren'thurtareyou!"
"I'm… I'm fine, silly. Just, what happened?"
Before Mabel could reply, the world became brighter. As their eyes adjusted to the sudden light, the group found themselves back in the Mystery Shack. Nyarlathotep let go of the three and began walking away.
"Where are you going?" Mabel asked.
"I must be off. So much to do, so little time. I hope we meet again. You and your brother are interesting; I like interesting. Goodbye."
As the god turned away, he walked out of existence, vanishing without a trace.
Mabel's house
"What do you mean, they just vanished?"
"Oh, God, they just disappeared. They vanished without a trace!"
"Ma'am, I need you to explain; what, exactly, happened to them?"
"One second they were there, and the next they were gone!"
As the officer scratched his head, a large van pulled up, filled with several men in black suits and sunglasses. They walked inside, escorted by a short, old man with large glasses.
"Officer, we'll take it from here."
"Who are you?"
"Special Services, Keys Peers. We'll take over from here. My men will help you outside."
Several agents escorted the officer outside and into the back of the van. Several seconds later, the officer stumbled out, his memory wiped of recent events. Back inside, the keeper was bringing the parents in on the recent turn of events.
"Who are you?" the twin's dad asked.
"I'm with special services, although our official name cannot be spoken here. Your phones were tapped; we were listening in, hoping that there might have been some sign or call concerning our mutual friend, Dipper Pines."
"You know about Dipper?!"
"We know that he went missing early in the summer; what was kept out of the official police report, however, was that he was taken away by an unknown force that vanished into thin air. When we heard that you called the police, and that your daughter and uncle were taken away by a similar man, we assembled a task force and now here we are."
"Wh… just what is going on?"
The old man rubbed his nose, annoyed as if he was trying to explain advanced biology to two children. Soos walked in from the kitchen, holding a bag of potato chips.
"So… how's it going, Mr. secret-government-agent-man?" he replied, oblivious to the commotion.
"Oh, Soos, have you tried explaining the situation to these two?"
"Not yet. Should I?"
"It might help."
Soos walked over to the traumatized Pines family.
"Okay, I'm going to try and explain this as simply as I can. Dipper was kidnapped by some unknown, evil force. Somehow, he made contact with some ancient creature older than most of the universe and convinced it to help rescue him. This thing teleported Stan and I over here, then teleported Stan and Mabel back to Gravity Falls, presumably to follow the trail to lead to Dipper. Do you want some potato chips? You look like you need something to chew."
The Pines' parents fell onto the couch, their minds buried in questions. Just then, the phone began ringing. Soos walked over and picked it up.
"Pines residence…"
Soos walked over and handed the phone over to the parents.
"I think you two will want to hear this."
Mabel's mother put the phone up to her ear.
"Hey…" a familiar voice said weakly over the other line.
"Dipper?! Oh my God!"
"Hi mom. "
"Are you alright?! Are you okay?!"
"I'm good. Mabel and Stan are with me. We're back in the Mystery Shack. Apparently I've been missing for five months. I… I love you guys."
Dipper sniffled over the phone, crying at the other end.
"I… I think we have a lot of catching up to do."