Dipper and Mabel were at the library.
"Alright, Mabel," Dipper said, taking the laptop from the bunker out of his backpack. "Today's the big day. Soos finally fixed the laptop. If this works, we can learn the identity of the author and unravel the greatest mysteries of Gravity Falls. You ready?"
"Oh, I was born ready, baby," Mabel replied.
To prove her point, she took out a scrapbook titled, 'Ready Baby?' She opened it to reveal a baby pop-up that said, "Mama."
Dipper opened the laptop and pushed the power button. It slowly started up.
"This is it," Dipper cheered.
After a while, the screen said, 'WELCOME'.
The twins celebrated by doing their secret handshake.
Their happiness was short-lived, though. When they turned back to the screen, it asked for a password. Dipper looked like he was about to snap.
"Don't worry," Mabel assured. "With your brains and my laser focus, there is literally nothing that can distract us from…" That's when Mabel heard music. "Did you hear that?"
The twins followed the music to the baby area of the library. There, a bunch of toddlers were gathered in a circle. They watched as a blonde boy around 14 played keyboard with one hand and controlled a bee puppet with the other.
"All my life I've been dreaming of a love that's right for me," he sang. "And now I finally know her name and it's…" He stopped singing and directed to the kids. "Sing it with me, kids."
"Literacy," the kids sang along.
The boy changed his voice to mimic the bee character. "I finally understand what all the buzz is about. Reading."
The boy brought out another puppet, this one being a book. "Give me some of that honey."
The boy made the two puppets make out.
Mabel could only watch in awe. She opened the scrapbook she used earlier. This time, she opened to a page with a heart pop-up to imitate a heartbeat.
Dipper knew where this was going. "Oh no."
"Just as I was getting over Mermando, you show up at my doorstep," Mabel said.
"Oh, I forgot about Mermando. Did not care for Mermando." Dipper directed his focus back to the laptop. "According to this cryptology book, there's 7.2 million eight-letter words. I'll type, you read, okay? Mabel?"
When Dipper turned back, Mabel was gone.
"And that's why we don't stick our hands in…" the boy continued to sing.
"Other people's mouths," the kids sang along.
"I'm Gabe Bensen, y'all," the boy said, wrapping up the show. "Goodnight."
"You were late on your cue," he imitated the book puppet.
He then imitated the bee puppet. "What?"
"Hey, be nice," Gabe said in his normal voice. "We're all stars."
That's when Mabel rolled in on a cart of books.
"Hey, guess who's Mabel?" she said. "I am. Care to learn more? I bet you do. You like to learn."
Mabel fell off the cart.
"Hey, I'm Gabe, Master of Puppets," Gabe introduced himself. "Nice to meet you."
Gabe shook Mabel's hand using one of the bee's hands.
"It's cool how you handle those puppets," Mabel remarked.
"Really?" Gabe reacted. "People think puppets are dumb or just for kids or something."
"Are you kidding? I'm puppet crazy. People call me 'Puppet Crazy Mabel'."
"Really? People call me 'Puppet Crazy Gabe'. So, when's your next puppet show?"
Mabel did not expect that. "Huh?"
"I mean, you can't truly love puppets if you're not throwing puppet shows, right?"
"Yeah, I'm totally working on a puppet show." Mabel giggled nervously.
"What are the details?"
"There are so many details."
Dipper tried cracking the password himself. None of the words on the list were working.
That's when he heard Mabel come back.
"So, how'd it go?" he asked, still focused on his work.
"Dipper, how hard do you think it would be to write and compose a sock puppet rock opera with lights, original music, and live pyrotechnics by Friday?" Mabel asked.
Dipper was so shocked by that question that he hit the enter button by the time he was done typing the password.
"What?" he reacted. "Are you serious, Mabel?"
"I don't know what happened!" Mabel defended herself. "I got lost in his eyes and his ponytail and I'm gonna be so embarrassed on Friday if I have nothing!"
"What about cracking this password? You know, Mystery Twins?"
"If you help me with this for just a couple of days, I promise I'll help you with the password. Please? It's for love."
After thinking about it for a bit, Dipper reluctantly agreed. "Alright…"
Mabel tackled Dipper in a hug. "Thank you so much!" She then turned to everyone else in the area. "This guy is number one!"
Everyone shushed Mabel.
"Sorry," Mabel apologized in a softer voice.
The twins walked out of the library.
"I can't wait to get to the bottom of this laptop," Dipper said. "We're so close. I can feel it."
Neither of them noticed a triangle-shaped silhouette floating after them.
Play Gravity Falls Intro Music
A bus stops in the small town of Gravity Falls. Dipper and Mabel get off the bus. In front of them is the town's star attraction, The Mystery Shack. Their great-uncle, Stan, invites them inside.
The twins look around the shack. They're both curious about everything.
Later, the Pines investigate a strange footprint with four toes instead of five. None of them realize they're standing in a much larger footprint.
DIPPER
Dipper looks around a cave holding a candle for light. He comes across a strange skeleton that scares him. He drops his candle, getting rid of his only source of light.
MABEL
Mabel stands in a room wearing a purple sweater with stars, her name, and a rainbow. She plugs an outlet into her sweater, causing it to glow.
STAN
Stan tells the twins, Wendy, and Soos a scary story. Soos and the twins are terrified while Wendy is completely unfazed. However, none of them notice the scary creature behind them.
WENDY
Wendy sits in front of the cash register, minding her own business. She doesn't notice the nearby jar of eyeballs turning to face her.
SOOS
Soos spins around the living room wearing multiple jewels on his clothes. Mabel shines a flashlight, and the light reflects off of the jewels creating a beautiful lightshow.
Dipper and Mabel lay in their room. Mabel reads a girl magazine while laying on the floor. Dipper reads a journal while laying on his bed. After a second, everyone and everything begins to float off the ground. Dipper is the only one who notices something off.
End Intro
One Cruel Summer
Chapter 19
Sock Opera
For the next few days, Dipper helped Mabel set up for her show during the day, and tried to crack the password during the night.
One of those days, it wasn't just Dipper helping. Wendy and Soos were helping too.
"My show's gonna be called 'Glove Story - A Sock Opera'," Mabel said. "Just a warning. People's eyes will get wet, because they'll be crying, from laughing, at how tragic it is."
"Yeah, that'll work," Dipper said as he removed some socks he accidentally glued to his face.
"Come on, Dipper," said Wendy. "You just gotta roll with Mabel's craziness. It's what makes life worth living."
Mabel started writing a corny love song.
That's when Stan came in. You'd think he'd be questioning everything, but after taking care of two children all summer, he was unfazed.
"Not even gonna ask," he said.
That night, Mabel got ready to go to bed with all of her finished puppets.
"Good night, my babies," she said to them. She then grabbed the puppet of Gabe and made it kiss the puppet of herself. "Soon, Gabe Bensen."
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Dipper continuing to guess the password.
"Don't stay up too late," she warned. "The last time you were this sleep-deprived, you tried to eat your own shirt."
Speaking of which, Dipper was doing just that. He realized what he was doing and stopped himself.
"Just a few more tries," he said to himself.
Many More Tries Later…
Dipper was on the roof, still trying to guess the password. No success.
"There has to be a shortcut or clue," he told himself. "Who would know about secret codes?"
That's when he felt a sudden gust of wind. Gaining a bad feeling, Dipper looked around. He held the laptop tightly in case the wind tried to blow it away.
All of a sudden, a strange light surrounded Dipper. He turned around to see it was coming from the moon. A familiar eye appeared in front of it.
Suddenly, Dipper felt himself lifting off the ground. He looked down to see he was, in fact, floating higher and higher into the air.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he shouted. "What's happening? Why am I floating?" He felt the force trying to pull the laptop out of his hand. "No, don't take the laptop!"
His efforts were in vain. The laptop flew out of his hands.
The eye transformed to reveal none other than Bill Cipher. He took the laptop.
"I think I know a guy who can help you," he said.
Dipper tried to grab the laptop. Bill just moved it out of Dipper's reach.
"You're awfully persistent, Pine Tree," Bill remarked. "Hats off to you."
Dipper's hat almost flew off his head. Dipper grabbed it in the nick of time.
"You again!" Dipper yelled, focusing his attention back to Bill and the laptop.
"Did you miss me?" Bill asked. "Admit it, you missed me."
"Hardly. You worked with Gideon and almost destroyed my uncle's mind."
"It was just a job, kid. No hard feelings. I've been keeping an…" Bill increased the size of his eye for emphasis. "...eye on you since that." Bill reverted his eye back to normal. "And I must say, I'm impressed."
"Really?"
"You deserve a prize. Here, have a head that's always screaming."
Bill summoned a disembodied head that screamed without stop. Dipper was beyond horrified.
Bill only made it worse when he tore the head's skin off, bit by bit, until there was only bone left.
"The point is, I like you," Bill continued. "How's about I give you a hint, huh?" Bill finally gave Dipper his laptop back. "I only ask for a small favor in return."
Bill ignited his hand in blue flame.
"I'd never do you a favor!" Dipper shouted. "Don't forget who defeated you last time!"
"Right, you 'defeated' me," Bill sarcastically remarked. "Well, if you ever change your mind, I'll be here, ready to make a deal." A screen appeared on Bill's chest appearing as a coin-slot machine. The three slots landed on a pine tree, creating a perfect match. "Hey, want to hear my impression of you in about three seconds?"
Bill flailed his arms around, screaming.
Right after that, gravity returned for Dipper. He started falling to the ground. He screamed as he flailed his arms in the same motion Bill imitated.
Dipper bolted awake, still flailing his arms and screaming.
He panted after all the screaming.
He looked around, terrified. He then calmed down, realizing it was all just a dream.
But then, he felt something on his palm. It felt weird and wet.
Dipper looked at his palm. There was a note on it written in his blood.
The dream was real.
Bill.
Dipper went downstairs, still tired.
"Hey Mabel, hey Stan," he greeted tiredly.
He went to the kitchen sink to clean the cut on his hand. He then proceeded to wrap a bandage around his hand.
"Whoa, bag check for Dipper's eyes," Stan chuckled before realizing no one else was. "Nobody?"
"Dipper, I told you to get some sleep last night," Mabel chastised. "Here, wake up with some Mabel juice." She showed the Mabel juice, which was the most unholy concoction anyone had ever seen. "It has plastic dinosaurs in it."
"It's like if coffee and nightmares had a baby," Stan remarked.
When he was done bandaging his hand, Dipper led Mabel outside of the dining room.
"Mabel, listen," he said. "Last night, Bill came to me, like, actually came to me. It wasn't a dream."
Dipper removed the bandage and showed the note on his palm to prove it. He then patched it back up.
"You mean the triangle guy?" Mabel asked.
"He said he'd give me the code to the laptop if I give him something in return," Dipper explained. "Like I'd actually trust Bill, right?"
"Don't worry, bro. Today is the day that the Mystery Twins are back in action. I'll help you crack that code. I just gotta hand the equipment to my production crew."
"Production crew?"
Outside, Candy and Grenda arrived carrying boxes of tools and parts. They were both really excited.
"We read the script," Candy said. "Very emotional."
"I cried, like, eight times," Grenda added.
That's when Evan came in with his own box of supplies.
"Sorry I'm late," he apologized.
"Boo!" Candy shouted.
"Go away!" Grenda demanded. "We didn't invite you!"
"I did," Mabel corrected.
"What?" Candy and Grenda reacted in unison.
The three girls huddled.
"You're seriously not forgiving him, right?" Candy asked.
"Yeah," Grenda added. "Especially after that stunt he pulled."
"I'm not forgiving him, yet," Mabel replied. "I'm giving him the chance to prove that I should forgive him."
"Why?" Candy asked.
"Because I know that he regrets what he did, and he really is trying to make up for it. I can feel it."
Candy and Grenda still didn't trust Evan, but they decided to not argue any further.
They turned to Evan. Candy made a 'I'm watching you' gesture, while Grenda punched her fists as a warning.
"Hey, ladies… and gentlemen," came a voice.
Everyone turned to see Gabe skating towards them.
"Gabe!" Mabel said happily.
"I was riding by," Gabe said. "Helps me dry out my ponytail after a shower."
Gabe took off his helmet and waved his ponytail around.
"Hoppity boppity," Grenda smiled.
"I must steal him away from Mabel," Candy muttered.
Evan just looked away. He didn't say a word.
"It's so great to see you," Mabel said. "I was just working on the world's greatest puppet show. It has puppets."
"Your passion is so refreshing, Mabel," Gabe remarked. "Unlike the girl from last night's puppet show. Single-stitch on one puppet, and cross-stitch on the other? I was like, uh-uh. Naturally, I deleted her off of my contact list."
Mabel giggled nervously. "Naturally."
"I know you won't let me down, though. Based on what you said the other day, you must be a puppet expert." Gabe put his helmet back on. "Later."
With that, Gabe skated away.
The moment Gabe was out of sight, Mabel turned towards the others.
"We gotta up our game," she said. "Did you hear what she said about the stitches?"
"Don't worry, Mabel," Grenda assured. "We got this."
She tried to control a puppet of herself to prove her point, but she just tore it up.
"How many eyes does a face have again?" Candy asked.
She revealed she glued way too many eyes onto one puppet.
Evan looked around, confused.
"What am I supposed to do again?" he asked.
"Ah!" Mabel screamed. "Okay, I'm back on fabrication! Someone, get me my lint roller!"
Mabel was about to run back inside. Dipper stopped her.
"Hey, you said you'd help me!" he reminded.
"Dipper, this sock crisis just bumped up to a code argyle!" Mabel argued. "The laptop can wait!"
"Mabel, do you seriously think impressing your crush of the week is more important than uncovering the mysteries of this town? Face it, Mabel. You're obsessed."
"I'm obsessed? Look at you. You look like a vampire, and not the hot kind."
Dipper rubbed the bags off his eyes. "But you said you were gonna help me!"
Mabel brought out one of her puppets.
"I can help you," she said, imitating her character. "With tickles."
Mabel started tickling Dipper with her puppet hand. Dipper had enough. He was quick to grab the puppet and yank it off of Mabel's hand.
He unintentionally yanked Mabel's arm, too. It hurt her.
"Ow," she said, so soft that no one heard.
"Fine!" Dipper snapped. "You know what? I'll do it on my own!"
Dipper sat in his room continuing to type in whatever passwords he could think of. None of them worked.
"Stupid passwords, stupid Mabel," he muttered. "Why doesn't anyone listen to reason?"
"Too many failed attempts," said a voice on the computer, completely shocking Dipper. "Initiate date erase in five minutes."
"No, no, no!" Dipper panicked. "I'm gonna lose everything? I only have one more try?"
All of a sudden, he felt himself floating off the ground again.
"Oh no," he said to himself. "Here I go again."
Bill appeared in front of the triangular shape on the window that coincidentally looked just like him.
"Well, well, well," Bill remarked. "Someone's looking desperate."
"Bill?" Dipper reacted. "I told you to piss off!"
"I can help you, kid. You just need to hear out my demands."
Seeing the timer going down quickly, Dipper decided to listen.
"What crazy thing do you want?" he asked. "My soul? My teeth? My sanity? Are you gonna turn me into an ink demon or living toy or something?"
"Yeesh, kid, relax," Bill assured. "All I want is a puppet."
"A puppet? What are you playing at?"
"Everyone loves puppets, and it looks to me that you have a surplus." Bill gestured to all the puppets in the room.
"I don't know. Mabel worked hard on these."
"Seems to me one little puppet is a small price to pay to learn all the secrets of the universe. Besides, what's your sister done for you lately?"
Bill played a bunch of flashbacks on his chest. These flashbacks depicted when Dipper went back in time to save Waddles, ditched Wendy's party to trick-or-treat with Mabel, and got himself banned from the pool to help Mabel save Mermando.
"How many times have you sacrificed for her, huh?" Bill asked. "And when has she ever returned the favor?"
Dipper looked out the window and saw Mabel working on the show with her friends, and Evan.
He then looked at the laptop to see there was only thirty seconds left.
Finally, he turned to Bill. His eye turned into a clock.
"Tick tock, kid," he said.
Bill formed a blue flame around his hand.
Dipper needed only a second to make his decision.
Bill is right, he thought to himself. Sorry, Mabel, but I've sacrificed enough for you. It's time you finally returned the favor.
"Just one puppet?" he asked. "Fine!"
Dipper shook Bill's hand.
"What puppet are you gonna pick?" he asked.
Bill looked around, pondering his decision.
"Let's see," he replied. "Eenie, meenie, mynie…" He then pointed at Dipper as his eye turned red. "You!"
"What?" Dipper reacted.
But by then, it was too late. What he felt next was the most painful thing ever.
When Dipper opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was his own body lying on the ground, dead.
It then bolted up. It opened its eyes to reveal they were now a bright yellow.
"Sorry, kid," it said in Bill's voice. "But you're my puppet now! Ha ha ha ha!"
Bill threw the laptop onto the ground before stomping on it.
Dipper looked at his spiritual self. He tried to touch himself, but his hands just phased through his body.
"This can't be happening," he said to himself.
Bill walked, more like, limped, around in Dipper's body. He approached the mirror.
"Man, it's been so long since I've inhabited a body," he remarked before slapping Dipper's face multiple times. "Woo! Pain is hilarious! And two eyes? This thing's deluxe!"
Bill then removed the bandages around Dipper's hand.
"I don't understand," Dipper said. "Why are you doing this? I thought we had a deal."
"Look, kid. You've been getting way too close to figuring out some major answers. I've got big plans coming and I need you out of my way. Destroying that laptop was a cinch. Now I just need to destroy your journal. Race you to the bottom of the stairs."
Bill purposefully tripped and fell down the stairs.
Dipper tried to fly down after Bill. For whatever reason, he wasn't moving the way he wanted to.
After a while, he phased through the floor and found himself in the living room, floating a few inches off the floor.
"This is why flying is overrated," he said to himself.
Dipper found Bill getting a soda from the fridge.
"Hey, human soda," he remarked. "I'm gonna drink it like a person."
Bill chugged the soda into Dipper's mouth until it couldn't hold anymore. He then poured the soda into Dipper's eyes.
"So where do you keep that journal, anyway?" Bill asked as he put Dipper's arm in a drawer. He proceeded to slam the drawer onto the arm. "It's gotta be around here somewhere."
Bill then started to stab Dipper's arms with forks. For whatever reason, they weren't bleeding.
"Boy, these arms are durable," he remarked.
"I've hidden it, somewhere you'll never find it," Dipper replied.
That's when Mabel came in.
"Hey, Dipper," she called. "I decided to use your journal as a prop for the play. I hope you don't mind. I'm gonna go before you process this sentence. Okay, bye."
Mabel left right as Bill finished processing the sentence.
"Sure, sounds great, sister," he said, making his best Dipper impression. "I'll see you at the show."
Dipper tried to fly after Mabel and stop her.
Unfortunately, Mabel joined Stan, Candy, Grenda, and Evan in the car as they left for the theater. None of them heard Dipper.
Dipper tried to get in front of the car, but it just phased through him.
"Welcome to the mindscape, kid," Bill said. "Without a vessel to possess, you're basically a ghost."
That's when Soos and Wendy showed up.
"Hey, Dipper," Soos greeted.
"We're going to the show tonight," said Wendy. "Need a lift?"
"Sure," Bill replied. "Anything for you, Red."
Soos, Wendy, and Bill got in the other car.
"I'm gonna stop you, Bill!" Dipper warned. "I'm gonna find that journal before you do and I'm gonna stop you!"
"But how can you stop me," Bill asked as he slowly and creepily turned towards Dipper. "If you don't exist?"
The car drove away.
Dipper wasn't gonna give up, though. He flew after the car all the way to the theater.
Dipper phased through the entryway and found Bill sitting in between Soos and Wendy.
"Ah, nothing like a good theater, huh, toots?" Bill said. "Hey Soos, want to hear the exact time and date of your death?"
Soos chuckled. "Okay."
"Why would anyone want to know that?" Wendy asked.
That's when Mabel showed up.
"Hey, guys," she greeted. "Glad you all made it."
"Are you kidding me?" Stan asked. "I would never miss… whatever this is."
"By the by, Mabel," Bill said. "Where'd you put my journal again?"
"I used it as a prop for the big wedding scene," Mabel replied. "I still need a reverend, though."
"Hey, what if I be the reverend? Someone's gotta hold the journal, right?"
"Great! Let's go!"
Wendy couldn't help but find something odd. She followed Mabel and Bill.
Dipper also went after them.
That's when the lights went out.
"The show is about to begin!" came Grenda's voice. "Everyone turn off your cell phones, unless you're texting me, cuties!"
The curtain opened to reveal a surprisingly decent cutout of the Mystery Shack.
At the end of the stage, Candy was playing the keyboard.
"Gather around and let us sing," she said. "About a girl who had almost everything."
Evan moved the platform Candy was standing on out of the audience's site.
Play "Who's That Girl?" from Gravity Falls
The windows from the Mystery Shack opened up to reveal puppets of Dipper and Soos.
Dipper Puppet:
Look, it's Mabel
A puppet of Mabel appeared front and center.
Mabel Puppet:
Hey there
Soos Puppet:
Did you say stable?
A puppet of Stan appeared next to the Mabel puppet.
Stan Puppet:
No, he said Mabel
Mabel Puppet:
Okay, hit it boys
The puppets of Dipper and Soos joined the ones of Mabel and Stan. A puppet of Wendy appeared as well.
All except the Mabel Puppet:
Who's that girl with the pig and the braces?
She puts smiles on everyone's faces
When she's around, you're never bored
A puppet of the town mayor appeared with a trophy.
Mayor Puppet:
I am a mayor, here's an award
Mabel Puppet:
Thank you, mayor
It's true, I'm great
But the perfect girl
Needs the perfect mate
A puppet of Gabe appeared.
"Hey, what's up?" he said. "I'm Gabe."
"Wha?" the Mabel puppet reacted as hearts appeared in front of her eyes.
End "Who's That Girl?"
Bill found Grenda working as a stage manager.
"Hey, Grendo," he said. "Where's that book prop I'm using for the wedding scene?"
"It's up in the wedding cake," Grenda replied, pointing at the cake prop. "But that doesn't come down until the second act. Hold your horses."
"Oh, I'll hold my horses." Bill stepped into the darkness as he said that. "I'll hold them, you monster."
Right as Bill left, Dipper floated towards Grenda.
"Hey, have you seen Mabel?!" he asked as loud as he could.
No response.
"What did Bill say?" Dipper asked himself. "I can't be heard without a vessel? Where would I find a…"
Dipper stopped himself when he noticed some sock puppets lying on the ground. That gave him an idea.
"I'm so glad that we're together," said Puppet Mabel.
"I'm sorry, Mabel," said Puppet Gabe. "But I have to go fight… in the war."
Puppet Gabe put on some military armor and went to fight in a war.
"I'll wait for you, Gabe," Puppet Mabel cried. "I'll wait for you."
The curtains closed, ending the first act.
"Our intermission has begun!" came Grenda's voice. "Mill about!"
Everyone in the audience started talking to each other, or heading to the bathroom, or just sitting there, waiting for the intermission to end.
Mabel entered her greenroom, exhausted.
"Okay, you can do this Mabel," she assured herself. "Only thirty-six more musical numbers."
That's when Wendy came in.
"Mabel," she said. "Don't you think something's wrong with Dipper?"
"No, why?" Mabel replied.
"Psst, Mabel, Wendy," a voice whispered.
The girls turned and saw Dipper's puppet floating in the air.
"Ah, it's come to life!" Mabel screamed. "The puppet books didn't warn me about this!"
Mabel threw a fork in the puppet's eye. Thankfully, it did nothing.
"Girls, it's me, Dipper," the Dipper puppet said, flailing around. "You need to help me!"
"Wait, Dipper?" Wendy reacted. "But how are you a puppet?"
"Mabel, you have to listen. Bill tricked me. He stole my body and now he's after the journal. You gotta find the journal before Bill destroys it. It's the only hope to get me back in my body!"
"Oh, that explains a lot."
"But my cue's coming up any minute!" said Mabel.
"You're seriously gonna prioritize your play over your own brother?" Wendy asked, shaking her head in disappointment.
That's when they heard a knock on the door. Dipper abandoned the puppet so whoever was there wouldn't see it floating.
The person at the door was Gabe.
"Hey, Mabel, do you have a minute?" he asked. "It's clear to me now that you really love puppets. I mean, you went whole hog. If you stick the ending, well, maybe later you could join me for a biscotti?"
"You drive a biscotti?" Mabel asked.
The lights flickered, signifying the next act was about to begin.
"I'll be waiting," Gabe said as he left the room.
The moment Gabe was gone, Dipper possessed his puppet again.
"Did you hear that?" Mabel asked. "This play has to be flawless. Can't we wait until after the show?"
"Mabel, you want me to be a sock puppet forever?!" Dipper yelled.
Mabel chuckled. "I'm sorry. You look funny when you're mad!"
Dipper fumed. His puppet looked like Kermit the Frog when he was angry.
"Okay, okay, okay," Mabel said. "Just take over for me until I get back with the book."
Seeing no other choice, Dipper filled in for Mabel. Wendy was there telling him what to say.
"Gabe, you're back from the war," Dipper said, imitating the Mabel puppet.
"Yes I am," he then imitated the Gabe puppet. "Wanna kiss and sing at the same time?"
"Okay."
Dipper had the two puppets kiss. He was disgusted.
"Seriously, Mabel?" he muttered.
Meanwhile, Mabel climbed onto the catwalk. She found the journal in the cake prop, right where she left it.
She tried to reach out for the journal. She ended up falling into the prop. It started to come down.
Thankfully, it stopped before it could hit the stage.
"That was close," Mabel remarked before opening the journal. "Alright, there must be a way to get Dipper's body back."
"Oh, but why would you want to do that?" came a familiar voice.
Mabel turned to see Bill, still in Dipper's body, pulling Mabel up.
"Bill-Dipper!" Mabel said. "Bipper!"
"Oh, why?" Bill reacted. "That is so disgusting! That sounds like a horrible ship name! JUST CALL ME BILL!"
"Sorry, Bill!"
"Shh, you wouldn't wanna ruin the show." Bill let go of the rope, causing Mabel to fall. He then grabbed it again. "Whoops. It's slipping. How about you hand that book over?"
"No way! This is Dipper's! I'd never give it away!"
"You didn't seem to have a problem taking it for your own play, or ditching him when he needed you. Come to your senses. Give me the book or your play is ruined."
Seeing no choice, Mabel was about to give the journal to Bill.
"There it is," Bill said. "I mean, who would sacrifice anything they worked for just for their dumb sibling?"
The answer came to Mabel's head like a speeding bullet.
"Dipper would," she replied.
Before Bill could process what Mabel said, she pulled the book, taking Bill with him.
The two fell onto the stage. They both fought over the journal.
"Get out of my brother's body you evil triangle!" Mabel demanded.
Stan grabbed a camera and started recording.
"Children fighting, I can sell this!" he said.
Mabel managed to grab the journal and whack Bill in the head. With Bill stunned, Mabel made a run for it.
"You can't stop me!" Bill warned. "I'm a being of pure energy with no weakness!"
Wendy snuck up from behind and grabbed Bill.
"True," she said. "But you're in Dipper's body, and we know all his weaknesses."
She then started tickling under Dipper's elbows. Because Bill was in Dipper's body, he felt it like he actually was Dipper.
"What are these?" he said, laughing his ass off.
"A little note about the human body," said Mabel. "You haven't slept in over 24 hours. Also, I got a full night's sleep and I'm on four mega shots of Mabel juice."
Mabel ran around the stage. Bill tried to chase after her, but he ran out of energy easily.
"What is this feeling?" he asked. "My body is burning. I can't move these noodle legs. Curse you, useless flesh sticks! Body… shutting down! Must scratch… mosquito bites!"
With that Bill collapsed. His spirit came out of Dipper's body.
Seeing his chance, Dipper got back in his body.
"Yes!" he cheered. "I'm back in my body…" He started to feel a bunch of sharp pains. "And it's just as underwhelming as ever! Everything hurts!"
The celebration was short-lived when they heard Bill's laughter. The trio turned around and saw Bill, in the Dipper puppet, crawling towards them.
"This isn't over!" he warned. "Big things are coming! You can't stop me!"
"I'm sorry, Gabe," Mabel said softly.
She then set off the fireworks meant for the finale. The pyrotechnics destroyed all the puppets, including the one Bill was possessing.
This is the part where the audience thinks it was all part of the show and loves it, Mabel thought to herself. Cue applause.
But the audience didn't love it. They all booed and walked out of the theater, unsatisfied.
Gabe shook his head at Mabel, disappointment evident in his eyes.
"Gabe, stay for the wrap-up party?" Mabel asked. "We got mini-quiches."
"Don't speak to me, Mabel," Gabe replied. "You made a mockery of my art form." He then turned to his puppets. "Let's go, my loves."
Gabe proceeded to kiss both of his puppets as he left the theater.
"Did he just make out with his puppets?" Dipper asked.
"I might've dodged a bullet there," Mabel remarked.
"Get a room!" Wendy yelled at Gabe.
Dipper looked away, feeling a bit guilty.
"Mabel, I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's my fault your puppets got ruined."
"Well, one of them survived, and she has something to say to you," Mabel corrected, showing the puppet of herself. She started to imitate it. "I'm sorry, Dipper. I spent all week obsessing over some dumb guy, but the dumb guy I should've cared about was you. Awkward sibling hug?"
"Awkward sibling hug."
The twins hugged each other, then patted each other's backs.
Dipper flinched after the pat. He looked at his hand to see that the cut on his palm had opened again.
"Come on, bro," Mabel said, noticing the blood. "Let's get you fixed up."
With that, the three left the theater.
A.N.
I'll admit, this wasn't an episode I was looking forward to that much. Not saying I didn't at all, there are just other chapters I'm a lot more excited about.
The most notable thing in this episode was Bill's grand return, and the way he called out Mabel for using Dipper for her own selfish desires, while also inadvertently turning the entire fandom against her.
Personally, I never hated Mabel, but I used to agree with a lot of the points that were made against her (and there are still a few points I can agree with). One of the original plans I had for this chapter was removing the twist with Gabe turning out to be a creep because I thought it was an example of Alex twisting things to work in Mabel's favor. There were two things that helped me realize how wrong I was.
Firstly, Cartoonshi's Mabel defense video (which you should really check out if you haven't already) which pointed out how despite dodging the bullet with Gabe, Mabel still ended up sacrificing her hard work and getting booed by the entire audience.
The other reason, upon rewatching the episode, I noticed some signs that foreshadowed the twist of Gabe being a puppet-obsessed freak, like his talks about how passionate he is about them. Now, I don't see it as a last-minute cop-out anymore.
Since we're on the topic of toxic people in this world, I might as well point out the cult following that I have. I appreciate that there are people here that worship me, I really do, but even I think it's a little creepy what some of you do with me.
I mean, seriously. Humanizing and sexualizing me? Shipping me with Dipper or Ford? Like, what the fuck!
Especially the shipping. Like, it's already bad enough that some of you take my history with Ford out of context! I wasn't in love with him! I was just being melodramatic! You also have no problem shipping me with Dipper, even though he's a damn child! I know I said it before, but those of you that ship me with Dipper aren't worthy of my appreciation!
And that's exactly why I included that scene where you insulted the "Bipper" nickname for "sounding like a horrible ship name".
Thanks for that.
Let this be a lesson to all of you that there's more to life than shipping. Kid, that means you. I don't think you've gone a single fanfiction without some sort of romantic pairing or moment.
Check out my Polar Express and FNAF fics, Bill.
One thing I feel I should mention is the couple of you who said that Evan should back away from Mabel after the stunt he pulled. If you don't ship them, that's fine, but I feel I should explain why I went with it.
The reason why I had Evan brainwash Mabel was because I wanted to have him make a mistake, that way he doesn't come off as some two-dimensional goody two-shoes. By pulling that stunt and realizing what he did was wrong, he can grow as a person, that way when he and Mabel do get together, it feels earned and not like it was just handed to him on a silver platter.
Again, I'm just explaining the reasoning behind my choice. This isn't an attempt at justifying or defending his actions, or saying you're wrong to think Evan doesn't deserve Mabel. You have every right to not ship them, as I have every right to ship them.
We actually do get to see some character development for Evan in this chapter, as he comes to help Mabel with her play, not as an attempt to win her over, but to make up for his past mistake.
I was planning to include a scene where Evan comforts Mabel after she got rejected by Gabe to add on to said development, but as I started to write the scene, I decided it'd be better if I had a scene like that later on.
Normally, I would update my Phineas and Ferb fic a couple times after updating this story, but I decided to get straight to this chapter and then the next one, because the next chapter is going to be the FNAF x Gravity Falls crossover I said I was gonna do back in chapter 4. I want to get that chapter posted on October 27, the anniversary of the FNAF movie's release.
Anyway, that's all I have to say. Thanks for reading.