From Guest (Guest): "Oh maaaaaaan, I love your oneshots. The perfect grammar, spelling, and spot-on potrayal of the characters... :) So, I was looking out for more talent and I heard from a friend in Tumblr that you were taking requests and turning them into works of art, and how kind you are about it. But, as of now, you got 19. If you don't mind and if you still have time, may I challenge you? ;) Can you do a oneshot about Bill slowly manipulating and brainwashing Dipper until he is under his total control? At the same time, Mabel is trying to snap her bro out of it but eveything seems hopeless until Mabel does something really touching or whatevs that was able to break and protect Dipper from Bill's spell? Good luck! :)"

Wow, really? May I ask who was it that recommended this story? I really want to give them a big hug now. As for the request itself, I love a challenge! This sounds interesting but it'll take a bit of time to write it. This requires more of a plot than the other ones, I see... I'll do my best! This one-shot is set after Sock Opera.

All I Need is a Puppet

"Hey, bro-bro!" Mabel called over her shoulder, mixing up some of her special Mabel Juice in the kitchen. "I was thinking... We haven't really hung out or relaxed ever since Gideon took over the Shack, and the zombies came, and then that shapeshifter - "

"Is there a point to this?" Dipper asked, startling her slightly. His tone was oddly distant and cold, but she brushed it off and continued speaking.

"Well, I was wondering we could have a movie night tonight. You know, with you and me and Grunkle Stan! If you want, I can invite Wendy and Soos as well so they don't feel left out - "

He interrupted her a second time, "I was going to read upstairs, actually. You and Stan can watch without me."

Mabel's eyebrows knit together as she turned around to stare at her twin sitting at the table eating lunch. He didn't look up from his food once.

"You okay, bro-bro? What's with the grumpy face?"

He still didn't meet her eyes as he stood, bringing his plate to the sink. "Nothing, Mabel. I'm just tired, I guess - and no, before you ask, I haven't been staying up late again."

Dipper left the kitchen before she could speak and she listened motionless as his footsteps trudged up the stairs. Her lips curled into a frown. Something was definitely off. Was he still upset about the puppet show incident? Her chest tightened as she recalled the fight between the two right before he made that deal with a demon, Bill's words whispering in her ears softly: I mean, who would sacrifice everything just for their dumb sibling?

No. She had apologized, like, a billion times and hadn't left his side ever since he had gotten out of the hospital. She knew he wouldn't hold that against her. Her brother had forgiven her easier than she probably deserved.

So what was up with Dipper now?

She turned on the blender with the Mabel Juice in it and just watched the contents of the energy drink swirl about rapidly, her head resting on her arms on the counter. Was he just not feeling up to a movie night? Was he staying in the attic to reread the journal for the hundredth time? He'd been acting pretty weird about that journal lately, now that Mabel thought about it. He hadn't let her touch it or read it, even missing dinner one time just so he could read it up on the roof of the Mystery Shack. He had been going to bed early too, which was unusual for the insomniac. Mabel sighed quietly, her cheerful mood gone as she watched a toy dinosaur fly past in the blender.

She wasn't the one who could name all fifty state capitals or figure out some secret code; she was the twin more geared towards emotions and liked to knit sweaters for fun. Overthinking stuff like this was her twin's niche, not hers.

Just as Mabel thought this, a loud shriek and a THUD rang out from upstairs. Her eyes widened and she hurried up the stairs, listening carefully for anything unusual. Something was wrong, she just knew it. Everything inside her screamed of trouble.

The brunette tentatively opened the attic door and gasped in shock. Dipper was kneeling by his bed, a journal page torn out by his trembling knees. His head was down so she couldn't see his expression, and this only served to frighten her further. Dipper loved that journal, there was no way he would just tear out a page of it. Yet, here it sat on the floor beside him.

"Dipper? You okay?"

His head snapped up faster than it seemed humanly possible and she couldn't help it: she gave a loud shriek of her own and fell against the doorway.

Her brother's expression was blank, showing no emotion, his normally brown eyes glazed and pulsing blue. He didn't appear to even be blinking.

And then his face contorted into a familiar twisted grin, eyes narrowing.

"Shooting Star! So nice of you to join us!" It was Dipper's voice, but there was no mistaking the fact that it was Bill Cipher controlling her twin brother. How he was doing it, she had no clue, but that didn't matter at the moment.

"Leave him alone, you buttface!"

Dipper - no, Bipper... well, was he still technically Bipper if Bill wasn't possessing him? - snorted and turned his attention back to the journal. "That's cute, kid, but not going to happen! See, Pine Tree's under my control. He's been brainwashed since that little puppet show of yours, actually. Funny how no one noticed that! ...Well, until now."

Mabel felt her throat constrict as guilt hit her right in the heart. She had completely missed the signs of something being wrong with her brother again. What kind of sister was she?

"Anyway, Pine Tree's going to get rid of a little nuisance for me! Isn't that right, kid?" Dipper's expression changed back to a blank slate and he gripped the next page in the book.

The girl realized at once what he meant and burst forward. "What? No! Dipper, you have to stop him - uh, you! You love that journal!"

"Too bad, Shooting Star!" Bill's words were cackled from her brother's unsmiling mouth as he started to tear the page out.

She briefly glimpsed some figures in robes on that particular page as she lunged and grabbed his wrist to stop him. He looked her dead in the eye and tried to continue tearing, nearly flailing as she struggled to hold on.

"Dipper! Please, it's me! Mabel! You have to snap out of it, bro-bro!"

"You're too late!" snarled Dipper, his expression twisting once more to that terrible grin as he tugged harder. "Pine Tree is long gone!"

"No!"

Mabel grabbed both of his hands when he reached with the free one to try and force her to let go. She barely managed to pull his hands off the book before he tackled her, the blank face scaring her as it returned. His hands reached for her throat and the girl struggled to hold her brother back.

"Dipper, please! This isn't you!"

He didn't listen, the glowing blue eyes gazing down at her as he managed to grab her throat with the left hand. She choked, scratching at his hand uselessly in a feeble effort to make him let go.

"I'm sorry I didn't see this coming, bro-bro. I should have known something was wr-wrong. But I know y-you can fight it. Come on, Dip, please!" Her voice was starting to grow raspy as she had a difficult time breathing properly.

Still the expression of neutrality didn't budge. Her heart sank and tears sprang to her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she choked out, shutting her eyes. She didn't want her last glimpse of her brother to be of this brainwashed boy's face.

To her surprise, the hand went rigid before twitching and removing itself from her throat, leaving the preteen to cough violently as her eyes fluttered open. Mabel glanced over after a few seconds and gasped.

Dipper was clawing at his hair, eyes still blue as muttered words flew out of his mouth. She could have sworn that she heard a familiar demon's voice yelling distantly as she stood shakily. Her sibling continued to wrestle with himself, eyes shutting tightly as a loud garbled yell rose from his lips. Without any warning he collapsed and silence filled the attic space.

Mabel didn't realize she was trembling until her legs nearly gave out as she crouched by the boy. Was he okay? Was he still brainwashed?

A soft groan reached her ears and she watched hesitantly as his eyes slowly opened. Relief surged through her heart - his eyes were brown and not glowing any longer.

"M-M-Mabel...?"

"Welcome back, bro-bro," she gasped out, her voice still aching from when he had tried to strangle her.

Nothing got past her brother, and his eyes widened impossibly big as he sat upright. "Oh, my god. I - I hurt you! M-Mabel, I'm - !"

"It's okay," she soothed before pulling him into a tight hug. He was still trying to excuse his actions but she tuned him out, talking over the boy. "I'm okay, and you're okay, so everything is okay. It wasn't your fault you got brainwashed by that jerkface demon."

Dipper clutched her sweater tighter, burying his face in her shoulder. His voice was muffled when he spoke again. "He said it was because of the deal we made. He had asked for a puppet and...I guess he thought the deal still applied."

Mabel tried to ignore the screaming voices of outrage in her brain. Next time she saw Bill, she was going to kick his triangular body to Mars. "Well, don't listen to him! Like I said, he's a jerk. He needs to take a time-out for this... do demons take time-outs? Are there specific procedures for it or...?"

Dipper shook his head, laughing into her shoulder as he kept his face there. She could feel the fabric getting wet but she didn't dare say anything in complaint about it. Besides, she had lots more sweaters to wear for the rest of the summer.

"I don't think they take time-outs, Mabel."

"That's just unfair. He definitely needs one. If he comes back, I'll give one to him myself!"

As her brother chuckled, the front door opened downstairs and a loud shout came from below. "WHO GOT SPARKLY PINK JUICE ALL OVER MY KITCHEN?!"

Remembering the Mabel Juice she had been making earlier, her eyes bulged as she froze. "Uh oh."

Mabel, don't leave blenders unattended!