Changing Things Up In Gravity Falls
Chapter 3: Revivals and Revelations
After he had seen the monster boy put his hand on Mabel's head, she hit the ground like a rock. He wasn't sure if he had hurt her, or she had fainted from fear, but at that moment, he didn't care. Something inside him snapped, and his mind was clouded by rage. His breath became ragged, and his eyes locked on the monster. He felt the same strength flooding through him as he did when he punched the metal grate at the abandoned convenience store. Before he knew what he was doing, his fist was already smashing into the boy's cheek. The boy's terrifying eyes widened in surprise, and he grunted...But that was it. He merely grunted. Dipper felt all the adrenaline in him disappear, and he was made conscious of extreme pain in his hand. He looked from his hand, and back to the boy, and noticed that the boy's head hadn't budged an inch. In fact, Dipper felt like he had just punched a tree, and the several broken bones in his hand agreed.
Dipper fell to his knees, clutching at his broken hand. Panic once again filled him, and he resumed panting hysterically. The boy did nothing for a few moments, then brought his hand to caress the cheek that Dipper had assaulted. Almost as if in a trance, he stared at his hand, then slowly cast his gaze to Dipper. Now Dipper expected to witness Death once more, but what he saw surprised him. The boy had vibrant, almost glowing purple eyes, and he was no longer glaring. His eyes had softened into a caring, lazy, gaze. Dipper felt all the panic and fear leave him at once, and he was at a loss for words. The boy smiled a warm smile, and spoke in a voice like water flowing smoothly over rocks. "Excuse me, but did you say...Gravity Falls?" the boy asked. Dipper's eyes widened even further than they were already, and he remained speechless. The boy stared for a moment, as if looking right through Dipper's very being. The boy crouched down low, and rested his arms on his knees, lowering himself to Dipper's level. He gazed at Dipper, and spoke once again. "Listen, I'm extremely sorry for scaring you, and I'm sorry if I hurt you. I'm...well let's just say an...intense person," he chose his words carefully. He smiled again. "I promise you, I will not harm either you nor your sister over there. I was merely startled when I woke up here, and my instincts kicked in. Again, I am extremely sorry." he apologized, his face showing true guilt and concern. Dipper stared, dumbstruck that this boy, who not a minute ago just killed his sister, was acting so normal. He froze on the thought. "Oh no!" he yelled, "MABEL!" Dipper shot to his feet, and bolted to where Mabel still lay, unmoving. He cradled her head, sputtering her name, over and over, in an attempt to rally her. The boy watched this display, and looked from twin to twin. He watched Dipper trying hopelessly to wake his sister, saying things from, "C'mon! You have to wake up!" to, "I need you! You can't just leave me!" The boy watched on, eyebrows raised, surprised at this show of affection. He stood slowly and walked to the twins. Dipper froze, then spun around to face the monster who hurt his sister. Spreading his arms, he shielded Mabel from the monster. The boy gazed at him sadly, then said, "I promise you, I won't hurt her. I'm going to wake her up for you" the boy remarked, blankly. Tears sprang to Dipper's eyes. "How can you wake her up if you killed her!?" he shouted. Even saying it out loud was enough to make Dipper's throat knot up, bringing even more tears his eyes. The boy's eyes filled with concern, and he placed a hand on Dipper's shoulder and smiled softly. "You do realize she's breathing, right?" he asked, smile slowly growing.
Dipper's breath caught, and he spun around and scanned Mabel from head-to-toe. After a few moments, he noticed a slight rise-and-fall in her chest. Dipper's knees started to shake, and he collapsed. His sister was alive! She was OK and he didn't lose her! He still had her, and he wasn't going to let her go again. All these thoughts rushing through his head, bringing a wide smile to his lips, and stopping the flow of tears. The boy smiled, and dug through his pocket. He produced a very small tube wrapped in paper. He tapped on Dipper's shoulder, startling him. He held up his hands, palm outward-a sign of peace- and offered Dipper the small tube. Dipper took it cautiously, and examined it. "You break it in half under her nose," the boy stated. Dipper eyed him suspiciously. "Relax, it's what martial artist teachers use to wake up knocked-out students. Just, be careful not to smell it yourself," he said with a small laugh. Dipper stared at the tube, and slowly did as instructed. As he broke the small tube, an extremely powerful odor wafted up into his nose and sent his mind spinning. Dipper dropped it, and covered his nose. "Told ya'!" the boy laughed heartily. The laugh somewhat relieved Dipper, as it contained no false tone. Before Dipper could say anything, Mabel's eyes fluttered open, and she coughed and sputtered as her lung use switched to manual. Her eyes darted about, wide and confused. Not three seconds ago she was floating about in that inky blackness, weeping for her losses. Now she was sitting in the middle of a giant crater, with Dipper crying and blubbering like a-...She stopped. Her gaze slowly set on her brother, and she stared for what seemed like hours. Dipper began to feel uncomfortable under the heavy scrutiny. Finally she reached her hand out, and rested it against his cheek, as if she didn't believe he was real. Her eyes growing even wider as she dragged her trembling fingers down his neck and brought them to rest on his chest, right above his heart. Tears slowly streamed from her eyes. Dipper sat still for a few moments, then looked at her, smiling as though he had just been touched by an angel. He took his hand and placed it over hers, gripping it tightly. The trance that was over Mabel broke down at this, and she did as well. Sobbing happily, she tackled Dipper, rubbing her tear soaked face against his, repeating his name over and over. Dipper's eyes went wide and he blushed from the unexpected affection. Off to the side, the boy smiled tenderly as he watched the two. Mabel continued to fuss over Dipper, feeling him up and down, still not fully believing he was real. Dipper blushed as her hands brushed very intimate places, and he coughed, rather embarrassed. Mabel looked back into his eyes, and she smiled widely. "It's really you..." she stated, rather quietly. Dipper smiled back, tears welling in his eyes. He nodded, and she did something rather unexpected. She nuzzled into the nape of his neck, pushing him down onto him back, wrapping her arm around him and squeezing him tightly, clearly intending to never let go again. Dipper's blush deepened at this, but he let her do as she pleased. She breathed in his scent, which had always soothed her, ever since they were toddlers. Several emotions and memories ran through her mind, remembering everything he had done for her, how she felt about him...how she had hurt him...She squeezed him a bit tighter at that thought. She had hurt him not only physically, but she hurt the trust they had. She was overcome by the guilt she had forgotten about. She caused this. Had she not hurt him, they would still be as they were. The closest twins in the world. They wouldn't have had their bond broken and she would have still had a chance with him. They wouldn't have chased after the light, they wouldn't have been attacked by that boy...Her mind froze at that thought and she gasped. She frantically looked up from Dipper's neck, and scanned the area. She had forgotten all about the boy. They were still in danger. She went cold as she saw the boy standing a few meters away, looking over them with a strange smile. Panic overtook her, and she sprang to her feet, putting herself between her brother and the monster that had attacked them. Spreading her arms to act as a shield, she shouted, "Leave us alone you monster! Please, just let us go!" She gasped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head cautiously to see it was Dipper. "Mabel, relax. He helped me wake you up. He was just startled waking up here." he said, trying to calm her. She shook her head, eyes wide and still panicked. "No! He's a monster and he's going to kill us! Run! I'll stall him and-" she was interrupted by Dipper wrapping his arms around her. It both startled and calmed her somewhat. "I promise you Mabel, he won't hurt us. Please, calm down." he cooed. Mabel looked from him to the boy, and back, panic again rising. He looked into her eyes, and all panic vanished. He was so sure of their safety, that she reluctantly let her arms fall from their defensive position. Dipper smiled, before nodding to the boy, who was watching the whole thing with a worried look. Upon seeing that everything was OK he looked relieved, but still cautiously walked over, knowing that the situation was still tense. Mabel's shoulders tensed as he neared, but she remained calm. The boy stopped a few feet in front of them, and he spoke in a voice that reminded Mabel of water flowing smoothly over rocks, somehow making her completely relaxed. "I am very sorry if I hurt you. I didn't know where I was when I woke, and I didn't know if you two were friendly or not. I was merely defending myself in the unknown situation. Once again, I am extremely sorry, and I beg your forgiveness." he explained with guilt. She stared at the monster boy apologizing like he had two head. He spoke too formally and politely for a monster. She was no longer scared, but she was still suspicious. "I-it's OK. I would have probably done the same," she started, "though, not so...super-human-ly." She thought the word fit his actions better than any other. To her surprise he blushed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "You would be surprised what adrenaline and fear can do to a person." he said with a chuckle. Both twins had noticed a slight tone to his voice that implied he wasn't telling the whole story, but neither decided to press about it, as it would probably reveal matters they didn't need to know. "So, who are you, if I may ask?" Mabel asked, starting to become comfortable in the situation. "My name is Grey. Once again I'm very sorry if I hurt either of you..." he said, once again showing guilt. She smiled, before waving off the continuous apologies. "It's all good," she said, before adding warily, "Just, uh, let's not do it again?" He nodded with a sincere smile. Mabel returned the smile, now beginning to trust the boy a little. "Grey?" she asked, curious about the unusual name. "It's actually my last name," he stated, "it's just what I go by." She nodded, not seeing a reason to press for his real name. "I'm Ma-," she started before being interrupted by Grey finishing her sentence, "Mabel and Dipper Pines. I know." Her eyebrow raised as she wondered how he knew. His eyes widened as he realized what he had said, and he quickly covered for himself, "Oh! Your brother already said who you were." She studied him, before shrugging and accepting his answer. Her attention was suddenly brought to the fact that Dipper still had her arms wrapped around her, his face and attention planted firmly in the nape of her neck. She blushed furiously as she frantically tried to grab his attention. "Hey! Dipper! Wake up! It's uh, dark, and we should get back to the shack!" she shook him, her embarrassment growing. He snapped out of his trance, and looked around, his gaze resting on Mabel. Her normal scent of bubblegum and strawberries was too much for him in his mentally weakened state from his recent experiences, and he lost himself in the waves of chocolate silk that flowed so perfectly from- He shook his head suddenly as he caught himself, knowing such thoughts were dangerous. Mabel grew uncomfortable under his lazy, almost-if she dared to read it correctly-love struck gaze. Forcing her reining emotions down, she shook him gently before repeating, "Hey, earth to Dippingsauce? You in there? We need to head back home. It's late, and I'm sure someone has noticed we're gone." He slowly nodded, before turning to head back home. He stopped after a few steps, before looking around, confusion evident on his face. Mabel looked at him questioningly. Dipper turned to her and asked sheepishly, "Um, sis? Which way is home?" Mabel's face deadpanned as she spun around, trying to recall which way they had come from. "I...I don't know!" she said, panic rising in her once more. Suddenly, grey cleared his throat. "Um, I know which way to go." he said. Mabel stared at him, once again confused at his knowledge of them. Once again, he looked as though he said something he shouldn't have, before quickly pointing at Dipper. "He told me you guys came from that way," he said, pointing in another direction. Mabel relaxed, and nodded. He led the way as she grabbed Dipper by the hand and led him, following Grey through the almost pitch black forest. Mabel wondered how the boy could see in this darkness, before turning to ask Dipper, "Hey Dip, if you knew the way we came from, why didn't you just lead us?" Dipper looked at her, clearly confused by the question. "What do you mean? I didn't know the way. You dragged me through the forest. I didn't pay attention to where we were going." he stated. Mabel raised a confused eyebrow, before replying, "But you told him which way we had come from." Dipper was once again confused. "I didn't tell him anything. We barely said a few words to each other." This made Mabel panic a bit. "But he knew our names and the way to the shack. He said you told him all that stuff," she said as they cleared the trees and the Mystery Shack stood there with all the lights on. Grey turned and smiled and he gestured to the shack. Mabel started to walk to the shack, before Dipper grabbed her sleeve, a panicked look on his face. "Mabel," he started in a serious and scared tone, "I didn't tell him our names..."
Alright, sorry if the chapter seems rushed, but I've been going through several things that have changed my life in ways i had no control over. My father died of cancer, and I was forced to move to Washington as a result. Still settling in, and I had little to no time to do anything, much less sit down for a few hours and write. But here it is, Chapter 3. Hopefully will be picking up the story again. i wanna get it going. Anyways, thanks for reading.
