"Alright, you two, today is the big day," said Dipper, placing the old laptop on the table in front of him. "Big day!," said Mabel. "Soos finally fixed up the laptop," Dipper said excitedly. "If this thing works, we could learn the identity of the author and unravel the greatest mysteries of Gravity Falls. You ready?" "Oh, I'm ready, baby," said Mabel, flipping through the pages of a pop up book titled Ready Baby? "Ma-ma." "Let's not put it off any longer. Power it on!," said Sammy, also feeling excited. Right now, the three of them were in the town library. As Dipper had already explained, Soos had just fixed up the laptop, meaning they could now turn it on to see what sort of secrets it held. Dipper powered on the laptop. "This is it. This is it," he murmured.
Eventually, the screen turned on, showing the word Welcome. "Aha! It worked," he cried. Then, the twins did something that was pretty strange, even for Sammy. They high fived each other, then bumped fists, and then stuck out their tongues while saying, "Blip, blap, bloobity bloop, twins." Sammy had to hold in his laughter. They were in a library, after all.
Suddenly, an alarm sounded from the laptop, putting a stop to their celebration. The words /UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS FORBIDDEN/ blared on the screen, then it switched to another, asking them to enter a password. "Ugh! Of course, a password," Dipper groaned. "It can never be easy for us, can it?," sighed Sammy. "Don't you worry, guys," said Mabel. "With Dipper's brains, Sammy's don't-give-up attitude, and my laser focus, there is literally nothing that can distract us from…" She stopped and perked up. "Did you hear that?"
Dipper and Sammy also listened. "Hey, you're right. It sounds like someone's… singing," said Sammy. They looked in the direction of the singing and saw a boy with blond hair tied into a ponytail and blue eyes, wearing a black shirt. Strangely enough, he also had hand puppets with him, a pink book puppet and a yellow bee puppet. He was surrounded by little kids.
"All my life I've been dreamin' of a love that's right for me," the boy was singing to the kids. "And now I finally know her name and it's… sing it with me kids." "Literacy!," the little kids sang in unison. Then, the boy started speaking through his hand puppets. "I finally understand what all the buzz is about. Reading!," said the bee puppet. "Give me some of that honey!," said the book puppet. Then, the boy made the two hand puppets kiss each other.
"Awww!," said Sammy, placing his hand over his heart with a big smile on his face. "Now that's just adorable…" "Seriously?," asked Dipper, who clearly didn't feel the same way. Mabel just stared at the new boy, and the look on her face said it all. She held up the pop up book and flapped its pages so that it looked like a red paper heart was beating over her chest. "Ba bump. Ba bump." "Oh, boy," Dipper mumbled, rolling his eyes. He already knew where this was leading to. "Haha. Thank you, thank you," the boy said to the kids after he finished singing.
Sammy also saw the lovestruck expression on Mabel's face and couldn't resist teasing her about it. "Another summer romance, Mabel?," he asked, prodding her side. "Just when I was getting over Mermando, of course, you show up at my doorstep," Mabel whispered. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about Mermando," said Dipper, walking over to a bookshelf. "Did not care for Mermando." He grabbed a cryptology book from the shelf and flipped through it. "Okay, this cryptology book says there's seven point two million eight-letter words. I'll type, you read." He received no word from his sister. "Okay, Mabel? Mabel?," he asked, looking around. "Uh, Dipper?," said Sammy, getting his attention. He pointed at Mabel's chair, which was empty and spinning.
Meanwhile, the boy on the other side of the library was still singing to the kids. "That's why we don't stick our hands in…," he sang. "...other people's mouths!," the kids sang along with him. Finally, he was done singing. "Hey, I'm Gabe Benson, ya'll. Good night!" The parents came back and took their kids with them. Then, once he was alone, Gabe started talking to his own puppets. "Hey, good job today, you guys," he said to them. "You were late on your cue!," the book puppet said to the bee puppet, though it was actually Gabe who was making it look like the puppets were really talking to each other. "WHAT?," the bee puppet yelled angrily.
Then, Gabe made the puppets fight each other for a moment before he "separated" them again. "Hey hey, be good to each other. We're all stars," he said sternly. At that moment, Mabel suddenly rolled towards him on a book cart. Since she had just arrived, she didn't see him interact with his puppets like that. It was probably just as well, as she would've had second thoughts of approaching him if she did see that. "Hey! Guess who's Mabel!," she said loudly. "I am. Care to learn more? I bet you do. You like to learn- WAA!" She fell off the cart, but quickly got up and walked towards him. "And I'm up!" Gabe, to his credit, didn't immediately scream and run away like most of the other boys that she tried to woo. "Oh, hey, I'm Gabe," he greeted her. "Master of puppets. Nice to meet you." Mabel looked at his hand puppets. "You're amazing with those puppets," she said, pointing at them. "Really?," Gabe asked hopefully, then looked away sadly. "A lot of people think puppets are dumb, or, just for kids or something."
"Are you kidding me?," asked Mabel, seeing an opportunity to connect with her new crush. "I'm puppet-CRAZY! People call me Puppet-Crazy-Mabel!" That was a lie. Not just the name, but her supposed fondness for puppets. She liked them just fine, but probably not to the same degree that Gabe was. "Really? People used to call me Puppet-Crazy-Gabe! So when's your next puppet show?," asked Gabe. "My huh?," said Mabel, her eyes widening.
"I mean, you can't truly love puppets if you're not throwing puppet shows, right?," said Gabe. Mabel giggled nervously. "Ha, yeah, I mean I'm totally working on a puppet show," she lied. "Oh, what are the details?," Gabe asked curiously. Mabel began sweating, trying to stall as best as she could. "There are soooo many details…," she said, smiling nervously.
Meanwhile, Dipper and Sammy were working together on figuring out what the password for the laptop could be. Dipper typed in PASSWORD as the password just to get that option out of the way, and sure enough, it beeped loudly, indicating that the code was wrong.
"Well, that didn't work…," sighed Sammy, trying to think what it could be. He got an idea. "Oh! I know!," he said, snapping his fingers. "Why not try BUNKER? That's where we found the laptop, after all." But Dipper shook his head. "Sammy, that's six letters. We need eight," he said. Suddenly, Mabel came back and sat down next to them. "So, how'd it go?," asked Dipper, not even taking his eyes off the laptop screen. "Guys, 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 somewhat randomly. "I imagine it'd be pretty hard. Why?," asked Sammy. Then, he put two and two together. "Wait a minute. Are you going to make a puppet play to impress that boy?" Meanwhile, Dipper was still trying to figure out what the password could be, but at that moment, he realized what Mabel just said and turned to face her in shock. "What? Mabel, are you serious?," he asked, grabbing her. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!," Mabel suddenly cried out. "I got lost in his eyes and his ponytail and I'm gonna be so embarrassed on Friday if I don't have ANYTHING." "Mabel, you need to stop going in without a plan first," sighed Sammy. "And is a puppet show really necessary? Why not simply ask him out on a date?"
"Because Gabe loves puppets!," said Mabel. "That's all he ever wanted to talk about! So if I really want to impress him, I need to write the best sock puppet show that the world has ever seen. I don't know where to begin, though!" "But what about cracking this password?," Dipper asked anxiously, showing her the laptop. "You know, mystery twins?" He held up his fist for a fist bump, but Mabel didn't return it this time. "If you guys help me with this for JUST a couple of days I promise I'll help you with the password," Mabel promised. "Pretty, pretty please!" She leaned forward and whispered. "It's for love, Dipper." Dipper and Sammy glanced at each other with uncertainty. The latter shrugged helplessly. "I mean… It's up to you, Dipper. I'll help you in any way I can, but if you're fine with taking the time to help Mabel with her puppet show instead, then…" Dipper looked at Mabel's pleading eyes, then sighed. "All right, okay–"
Mabel rushed towards Dipper and hugged him tightly. "YES! THANK YOU! THIS GUY! HE'S NUMBER ONE!" "Hey, what about me?," Sammy pouted playfully, putting his hands on his hips. "You're number one too, Sammy! You can BOTH be number one!," said Mabel as she hugged him as well. Dipper realized that Mabel was being way too loud, especially since they were in a library, and tried to quiet her down. "Okay, okay, okay, okay, shhhh…"
The three of them left the library, with Dipper holding onto the laptop. "Man, I can't wait to get to the bottom of this laptop," said Dipper. "We're close to something big here; I can feel it…" Sammy couldn't help but smile, glad that Mabel's new crush wasn't enough to dampen the boy's spirits. But then, as they walked out of the library, Sammy suddenly felt a chill up his spine, like someone, or something, was watching them. He stopped and turned around, but there wasn't a single soul. "Sammy?," asked Dipper, looking up at him in concern. "Are you okay? You look a little tense." Sammy took one last glance over his shoulder and shook his head.
"Sorry. I just thought that… Never mind. Let's go." As the three of them left the library, a sinister shadow appeared on the wall behind them for a brief moment. It was a triangle with a hat, arms, and legs. It floated across the wall, then vanished as quickly as it came.
For the next week, Dipper, Mabel, and Sammy worked together on helping Mabel with her puppet show. Eventually, Wendy and Soos got wind of their project, and decided to join in. Even Waddles watched them at work, curious about what they were doing. They worked on the script, the puppets, and the props together. Throughout it all, Sammy was enjoying himself quite a bit, grateful for the few moments when they could all get together and do something that didn't involve the paranormal in some form or another. Dipper had some fun too, but he was fixated on the laptop, and when he wasn't helping Mabel with her puppet show, he was up in the attic while trying to figure out what the password could be. Sometimes, Sammy would come up and help him, and sometimes, he would stay down and help Mabel crafting the puppets.
"Alright," Mabel announced one day. "The play is gonna be called Glove Story: A Sock Opera. Just a warning, people's eyes will get wet. Cause they'll be crying. From laughing! From how tragic it is." Dipper ripped off a sock puppet that had been glued to his face. "Yeah, that… um. That sounds great," he said, before coughing up some pom-poms. Sammy squinted his eyes and realized that he couldn't see anything clearly anymore. He took off his glasses and saw that the lenses were covered with dried glue and some glitter. "Give me a minute, guys. I need to wash my glasses," he mumbled, standing up and walking to the kitchen.
"Come on, Dipper, you just gotta roll with Mabel's craziness. It's what makes life worth living," said Wendy. Suddenly, Mabel started singing, "Puppet boy, puppet boy, you're the boy I…" "Loooooovvvvveeee!," everyone else joined in. Even Waddles let out a squeal. The only one who didn't sing along was Dipper, who had his arms crossed and had a disgruntled look on his face. At that moment, Stan walked into the room, and saw them singing together while bits of fabric, googly eyes, socks, and other miscellaneous items were scattered around them. "Not even gonna ask," said the conman, quickly turning around and walking away.
That evening, when they were about to go to bed, Mabel placed all her beloved puppets around her bed. "Goodnight, my babies," she addressed them. Then, she took a puppet that bore an eerie resemblance to Gabe, and a puppet that looked just like herself. She made them kiss each other. "Mwop mwop mwop mwop. Mwah! Soon, Gabe Benson–"
Suddenly, the loud beep of the laptop could be heard. Mabel looked towards Dipper, who was still trying to find the password, but to no avail. "Ugh, wrong password, WRONG, WRONG! UGH!," he groaned, collapsing. Sammy sat up in his bed, his eyes tired and bleary. He had been trying to go to sleep for a while, but the incessant beeping was not letting that happen. "Dipper, don't you think you should put this off until tomorrow? You've been trying different passwords for hours now," he said. "I can't stop now! Not when I'm so close!," Dipper protested.
"Well, don't stay up all night, Dipper. Last time you got this sleep-deprived you tried to eat your own shirt," said Mabel. Dipper paused and looked down, realizing that he was sucking on his shirt right now. He spat it out. "Pleh. Just a few more tries," he said. "Look, if the beeping is really bothering you guys, I'll go out on the rooftop." He picked up the laptop and went out the window onto the rooftop. Sammy and Mabel gave each other worried glances.
A few hours later, after everyone else had fallen asleep, Dipper was still on the rooftop, typing in password after password, only for each and every one of them to fail. The beeping was really starting to get on his nerves. "Ugh, I can't take that sound anymore," he groaned. "I. Hate. You. Sound." He pounced on the keyboard, then yawned. "There has to be some shortcut or clue. Who would know about secret codes?" Suddenly, a cold and harsh wind blew through the air. Dipper felt a menacing presence, and he quickly stood up, clutching the laptop to his chest while looking around in alarm. Unbeknownst to him, the moon in the sky was turning behind him, revealing a giant, slitted pupil. Dipper turned around and saw the eyeball in the sky staring at him. He gasped and took a step back. Then, bricks formed around the eyeball, there was a flash of bright light, and suddenly, there was no more color in the world. Everything had turned black and white, and the only two things that still had any color left were Dipper himself and the menacing triangle in the sky. "I THINK I KNOW A GUY," Bill Cipher boomed.
"Bill!," gasped Dipper. "Yep, that's me!," said Bill, shrinking down to Dipper's size and floating around him. "Don't wear that name out. Well, well, well. You're awfully persistent, Pine Tree. Hats off to you!" He took off his hat in "respect", and the entire world suddenly tilted on its side, causing Dipper to scream and lose his balance. When Bill put his hat back on, the world was straight again, and Dipper fell back on the roof. "You again!," he growled.
"Did you miss me? Admit it, you missed me," Bill teased. "Hardly," Dipper scoffed. "You worked with Gideon! You tried to destroy my uncle's mind!" "It was just a job, kid!," Bill chuckled. "No hard feelings! Me and my little fleshbag goons have been keeping an…" He suddenly grew massive and his voice became lower. "...EYE ON YOU…" He then reverted to his normal size and voice. "...since then, and I must say I'm impressed!" "Really?," asked Dipper. Then, his eyes went wide when he realized something that Bill just said. "Wait a minute. What do you mean by 'goons'? Who are they?" "Oh, just a little ragtag group of flesh bags who decided to make me their god and cause all kinds of evil and mayhem in my honor. They're not important," Bill said dismissively. "Anyway, you deserve a prize! Here, have a head that's always screaming!" He clapped his hands together, causing a blue screaming head to suddenly appear.
Dipper screamed as well, horrified by what he was seeing. But that was almost nothing compared to what happened next. Bill snapped his fingers, and the head disappeared, but not instantly. Instead, the screaming head was stripped away, layer by layer. First, the skin was gone, then the muscles, and finally the skull itself, which let out one last scream before fully disappearing. Dipper had to resist the urge to throw up right then and there.
Bill briefly cackled at Dipper's discomfort. "Anyway, my little goons have been hard at work these past few weeks. The only problem is, they're not exactly doing a good job at it. So I figured, if I wanna get something done right, why not do it myself? That's why I'm here! How's about you let me give you a hint, huh? I only ask for a small…" His voice got low again as his eye turned blue, and blue flames crept up on his hand. "...FAVOR - in return."
"I'd never do a favor for you, especially now that I know you sent people to come after my friends!," Dipper said angrily. He had already pieced together that the so-called goons that Bill was talking about must have been the same people who tried to kill Sammy and Wendy in the underground caverns. "Besides, don't forget who defeated you last time!"
Bill suddenly rose out of the roof behind Dipper, with the latter somehow not noticing until it was too late. "Right, you 'defeated me'. Well if you ever change your mind…" He pulled a holographic version of Dipper's brain out of his own head. "...I'll be here for you, ready to make a deeaaall." He then turned into a slot machine and twisted his own arm as some kind of lever. Three spinning slots appeared on his body, which all stopped at a symbol of a pine tree. "Hey, wanna hear my impression of you in about three seconds?" Then, Bill started screaming while waving his arms frantically. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A moment later, the dream came to an end, with Dipper waking up and screaming while flailing his arms in the exact same manner that Bill had predicted. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!," he screamed, before realizing that he was awake, and it was now dawn. He frantically looked around, sweating and breathing heavily.
Meanwhile, everyone else was in the kitchen. Sammy had made pancakes for everyone, and usually, that would have been enough to put a smile on Stan's face. But even with a large stack of them right in front of him, there was still a disgruntled frown on his face. And that was mostly because of Mabel and her newfound obsession with puppets. Suddenly, a paper bag that was made to look like the conman was thrust into his face. "Hey, I'm puppet Staaaannn!," Mabel spoke through the puppet in a goofy voice. "Still ignoring this," muttered Stan.
The conman glanced at Sammy, who was also ignoring his pancakes, but not for the same reason as Stan. He was holding a puppet that Mabel had made for him this morning, and was petting and stroking it while murmuring under his breath creepily. "Kid, that thing's a puppet, not your dog," he snarked. Sammy gave a start and looked at Stan with a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry. It's just… so well made. It looks exactly like me!" The puppet that he was holding in his hand was meant to resemble himself, and contrary to his earlier statement, it didn't look like him one bit. The googly eyes were too far apart, the hair was a mess, and the paper arms which jutted out from the side made it look ridiculous. But Sammy absolutely adored it.
Then, Dipper walked into the room, yawning loudly. "Hey guys," he said. "Woah, bag check for Dipper's eyes. Ha ha!," Stan laughed. Nobody joined in. "Nobody?"
"Dipper, are you alright? You look terrible," Sammy said worriedly. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just… didn't get a lot of sleep last night," Dipper yawned again. "Dipper, I told you to get some sleep last night! Here, wake up with some Mabel Juice," said Mabel, holding out a blender that was filled with a red liquid that had various objects floating inside it. "It has plastic dinosaurs in it!" "It's like if coffee and nightmares had a baby!," Stan groaned in disgust. "Mabel, do you really drink that?," asked Sammy, staring at the so-called juice. "It can't be good for you."
"Sure I do! Where else do you think I get my energy from?," asked Mabel. Then, Dipper suddenly grabbed Mabel and Sammy by their hands and pulled them into the living room, away from Stan. "Guys, listen, last night I had a dream with Bill in it," he told them.
"You did?!," Sammy gasped in shock. "Wait, hold up, the triangle guy?," asked Mabel, forming a triangle around her eye with her fingers. "What did he say to you? What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?!," Sammy asked frantically. "Whoa, whoa, Sammy, calm down," Dipper said. "He only said he'd give me the code to the laptop if I gave him something. Like I'd actually trust Bill, right?" "Hmph! Well, you did the right thing, Dipper," Sammy huffed, quite angry at the thought of Bill invading one of his friends' dreams. "I still haven't forgotten or forgiven that dream demon for turning me into a chicken that one time. Even after we defeated him and got out of Stan's mind, I was still coughing out feathers and laying eggs for a week afterwards!" He saw the twins looking at him with grossed out expressions on their faces. "You don't want to know the details," he said. "Nope. Definitely not," Dipper agreed, shaking his head.
"Don't worry, bro," Mabel said to Dipper, shaking those disgusting thoughts out of her head. "Today's the day that the mystery twins are back in action. I'll help you crack that code. I've just got to hand off my puppet stuff to my production crew." "Production crew?," asked Dipper. "What production crew?," asked Sammy, who was just as confused.
Mabel's "production crew" turned out to be only two members: Candy and Grenda, who were standing outside the shack and covered in socks. "We read the script. Very emotional," said Candy. "I cried like eight times," said Grenda. Dipper stared at the two girls, then looked at Mabel. "They're your production crew?," he asked. Not that he had no faith in Mabel's friends, but still… "Trust me, Dipper. When you need something done, they are your go-to girls," Mabel said proudly. "I guess…," Dipper said with a shrug. "Anyway, let's get started on finding that password." But before Dipper, Mabel, and Sammy could head back inside, Gabe suddenly rolled up to them on roller skates. "Hey ladies," he said. "GABE!," Mabel squealed, pushing her brother aside and running up to him. "I was just bladin' by. Helps me dry out my ponytail after a shower," said Gabe, taking off his helmet and shaking his hair out. "Ah, ah."
Mabel stared at Gabe, enamored by the sight of him. But it wasn't just her. Even her friends, Candy and Grenda, were staring at him in the exact same way. "Hubbity-hubbuty," said Grenda. "메이블이 한테 개이브을 훔쳐와야겠다!," Candy whispered to herself. "Oh, boy," muttered Dipper, rolling his eyes. "Hi!," said Sammy, trying to be friendly. "You must be Gabe. Mabel has told me a lot about you." He reached out for a handshake. "All good things, I hope," said Gabe, taking Sammy's hand. But instead of shaking it, he leaned in and kissed Sammy's hand, like how a prince would kiss the hand of a lady in a medieval fantasy romance novel. "O-oh!," said Sammy, surprised by how bold Mabel's new crush was. He looked down at Mabel and smiled at her. "He's a keeper," he whispered to her, causing the girl to giggle excitedly.
"It's so great to see you!," said Mabel, turning to face Gabe. "I was just working on the world's greatest puppet show. IT HAS PUPPETS!" "Your passion is so refreshing, Mabel," said Gabe, before suddenly scowling. "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!'" "Cross-huh?," asked Mabel, as she had no idea what that even meant. "Naturally I deleted her off my cell phone contacts list," said Gabe. "NATURALLY! Hahahaha!," Mabel laughed nervously. He deleted a girl from his contacts list because of a bad puppet show?, thought Sammy. Wow. He must really take his puppets seriously. "I know you won't let me down, though," said Gabe. "Based on what you said the other day, you must be a puppet expert." Mabel's smile became more strained, and she was starting to sweat profusely. "You know, Gabe, you look pretty sweaty," Grenda suddenly spoke nervously. "You should really take your shirt off. Right? Aren't we all thinking that?"
"Later, ladies," said Gabe, skating off. Once he was gone, Mabel finally let her panic out. "GWAAA! We gotta up our game, girls! Did you hear that thing he said about the stitches?!," she cried. "Don't worry, Mabel, your crew can handle it!," Grenda tried to reassure her, only to then rip apart her own puppet by accident. "Oops." "How many eyes does a face have again?," asked Candy, holding up a puppet that was completely covered in googly eyes. Meanwhile, Soos was trying to keep a mountain of puppet supplies on his car. "I got it, I got it," he said, only for all the stuff to fall on top of him. "Ah! I'm not okay!" This only made Mabel panic harder.
"AAA! Okay, I'm back on fabrication." She started running. "Get me my lint roller!" But before she could go anywhere, Sammy stopped her by grabbing onto her arm. "Mabel, wait a minute. What about Dipper?," he asked. "You just said you were going to help him find the code for the laptop, remember?" "Y-yeah, but this sock crisis just bumped up to a code argyle! The laptop can wait!," said Mabel. "What?!," cried Dipper, outraged by what he heard. He stomped up to his sister. "Mabel, you promised that if we help you work on the puppet show for a few days, you would help us with the laptop! You can't just go back on your word!"
"I'm not going back on my word!," Mabel said defensively. "It's just… you know, things change. Normally, I'd help you guys out in a heartbeat, but…" "Mabel, do you seriously think that your random crush of the week is more important than uncovering the mysteries of this town?," Dipper argued. "You're obsessed!" "I'm obsessed? Look at you! You look like a vampire! And not the hot kind!," Mabel retorted. "Guys, can you stop–," Sammy tried to butt in. "But you said you were going to help me today!," Dipper said angrily. "And I will!," said Mabel. "Just… just after the puppet show, okay? Come on, can't you just lighten up for once?" At that point, Sammy knew that the twins were about to have yet another falling out. He noticed that Candy, Grenda, and Soos were watching the argument uncomfortably. "Soos, can you take Mabel's friends into the shack?," he asked. Soos nodded and gently herded the two girls inside while Dipper and Mabel continued to argue. "It's not me who needs to lighten up, Mabel! It's you who needs to take this more seriously!," yelled Dipper. "Ugh, I just don't understand why you're like this!"
"Guys, please–," Sammy tried to say something again. "Dipper, you have the whole summer to find out what the password for that laptop could be!," yelled Mabel. "But this is my one chance to finally find that summer romance I've always wanted. I can't just give up on it! I might never get another chance like that again!" Dipper opened his mouth and was about to angrily retort something, but stopped. He glared at Mabel for a while, and Mabel glared back, both of them refusing to step down. "...I guess I shouldn't be surprised," said Dipper, his voice bitter and cold. "You always throw me under the bus anyway. It was stupid of me to think you'd changed." Mabel gasped sharply and took a step back, staring at Dipper with wide eyes. Tears started streaming down her face. "Dipper!," Sammy snapped. "You can't just say something like that to your own sister!" "Why not? It's true, isn't it?," Dipper shot back. "She always puts herself first! Do you want me to list all the times when she was being selfish? The time machine, the pool, the bunker, and now this! She always does this, and she never learns!"
"Y-y-you can't… You can't do that," Mabel whimpered, her eyes brimming with tears. "You can't just… use that against me, Dipper. It's not fair…" "Alright, this has gone far enough!," Sammy said angrily. "I agree that Mabel shouldn't have broken her promise so quickly, but you have crossed a line too, Dipper! I want you to apologize to her. Right now." But Dipper refused to apologize, instead choosing to cross his arms and look away stubbornly, not saying a single word. "...Fine," Sammy huffed. "Have it your way. If you won't apologize to your sister, then I won't help you with the laptop." "What?!," cried Dipper, looking at him again.
"You heard me," Sammy said firmly. "Until you come to your senses and apologize to your sister, I won't lift a finger to help you find the password for that laptop. It's as simple as that." Dipper stared at Sammy in disbelief, then glared at him. "Okay, fine," he hissed. "I don't need your help, anyway. You can help Mabel with her puppet show all you want. Meanwhile, I'll be up in the attic and doing something that's actually important." Then, he glared at Mabel, who flinched back. "I guess that talk we had outside the bunker meant nothing to you, huh?," he said bitterly. Then, he turned and stomped back inside, not even sparing a glance back.
Sammy scowled at his retreating back for a moment, then looked down at Mabel in concern. The poor girl was shaking, with tears and snot running down her face. He reached to touch her shoulder, but she quickly stepped out of the way. "I… I… Sorry, I need to be alone right now!," she cried, running in the direction of the woods. "Mabel, wait!," Sammy called after her, but she didn't listen. She ran through the trees, heaving, gasping, and crying. She didn't even care where she ran off to, as long as she was far, far away from the shack.
Mabel didn't know how long she ran, but eventually, she stopped at a small clearing in the middle of the woods and leaned against a tree, completely out of breath. She slid down the trunk until she was sitting on the ground, then curled up her knees and began sobbing into her arms, her shoulders shaking. A few minutes passed. Eventually, Mabel had stopped crying, though she was still sniffling quite a bit. She looked up at her surroundings…
…only to see that everything around her had turned black and white, completely devoid of any color. She looked around in bewilderment. Then, in a bright flash of light, a certain dream demon popped out of thin air, twirling a cane made out of light. "Well, well, well. Looks like you and your brother got into a pretty nasty fight, huh Shooting Star?," he taunted.
"B-B-Bill!," cried Mabel, stumbling back. "What are you doing here?" "Weeell, I was here to try to make a deal with Pine Tree, but he's being… resistant. So I figured, why don't I make a deal with you instead? It looks like you need it," said Bill. Mabel quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and glared at the floating triangle. "No way! Dipper already told me and Sammy that you visited him in his dreams last night! If he didn't make a deal with you, then I won't either!," she said. "Maybe you'll change your mind once you hear what I have to offer," Bill said slyly. "I can help you, kid. You just need to hear out my demands." But Mabel covered her ears and began shouting at the top of her lungs, "LA, LA, LA, LA, LA, I'M NOT LISTENING!"
Bill casually snapped his fingers. Suddenly, Mabel's voice went silent. Confused, she touched her mouth, only to realize that there was no mouth anymore, just a blank canvas of skin where it should've been. She tried to scream, but there was no sound. Bill Cipher had stolen her mouth! "Ah, that's better," said Bill. "Now see, I've been watching you and your family ever since you all 'defeated' me in Stan's mind. In short, I know what's been going on. You found another boy that you fell in love with, Pine Tree and Mother Hen wanted you to focus on figuring out the password for that laptop, but you, being the selfish little brat that you are, only care about that boy and how you could impress him. You and Pine Tree got into a fight, you said some things, he said some things, Mother Hen stood by and did nothing as usual, yadda, yadda, yadda. So now you're here, acting like a little crybaby because your brother said some mean things to you. Did I get the gist of it, Shooting Star?" Mabel squeezed her eyes shut and hung her head. After a while, she nodded. "Then you're lucky that I'm here now, 'cause boy do I have a deal for you!," said Bill. "I have just the thing that'll solve all of your problems from now on!"
Mabel looked up at Bill in confusion, and a slight bit of hope. "The problem with you is that you're too boy-crazy!," said Bill. "Every time a new one shows up, you forget all about your friends and family, and have eyes only for that boy. And you'll do whatever is necessary to sink your claws into him, no matter who you hurt in the process!" Mabel winced at how harsh and cruel he made her sound. "Aw, don't feel too bad about it, Shooting Star! I actually admire that trait of yours! You only care about your own objective, and you don't mind using your loved ones as stepping stones to achieve it. In a way, you're almost just like me! Hahaha!"
Mabel glared up at Bill, trembling with anger and fear. At that moment, she wished that she still had her mouth so she could shout all kinds of expletives at him, the words that would've gotten her mouth washed out with a bar of soap back home. One would be surprised by how many swear words she knew. "Anyhoo, the point is that you can't keep your head around boys, and that's distracting you from what's really important - being there for your brother," continued Bill. "So how's about I do you a favor? If you just give me permission, I'll be allowed to go into your head and fix whatever's wrong in your adorable, fragile little brain. No pain and no fuss! I'll be in and out so fast that you won't even know what happened. And when I'm done, you won't give that ol' puppet boy the time of day ever again, or any other boy, for that matter. And you'll be able to help Pine Tree with his little password problem, like you promised you would! Pretty sweet deal, eh? So whaddya say, Shooting Star? Interested in my offer now?"
Mabel didn't say anything… because she couldn't. "Whoops! Sorry about that, kid! Let me give you your mouth back!," Bill laughed, snapping his fingers. Mabel quickly put her hands to her face, and was relieved to feel her lips, teeth, and braces once again. But she was still suspicious of Bill's deal. She wasn't stupid, after all. "And what do you get in return?," she asked boldly. "You wouldn't do this just to be nice… but if you are, I'm totally fine with that." Bill laughed again. "Heh! Sharp mind you got there, Shooting Star. Guess Pine Tree isn't the only one in the family with brains, eh? You're right, this deal ain't free, kid. Don't worry, I'm not gonna eat your soul, or rip out your teeth, or replace your eyes with baby heads or anything like that. Though that would be pretty funny! But nah, all I want is a puppet!" Mabel stared at him in confusion. Was that it? A puppet? "You just want a puppet? And nothing else?," she asked.
"Nope! Just a puppet!," said Bill. "Everyone loves puppets. And from what I've seen, you've got a surplus." "I-I don't know…," Mabel said uncertainly. "I've worked so hard on those puppets…" "Seems to me one little puppet is a small price to pay for what I'm offering you here," said Bill. "I'm doing you a favor, kid! No more crushes, no more heartbreaks, no more stabbing your own brother in the back. I mean, think back to those times. What have you done for him lately? How many times has he sacrificed for you, huh? And when have you ever returned the favor?" Mabel knew that Bill was emotionally manipulating her, but that did not stop her from remembering all the times when she put her own self-interests before Dipper's. Like when she got him fired from his job as a lifeguard for Mermando… or when she used the time machine to win Waddles at the cost of Dipper hitting Wendy in the eye with a baseball… or when she didn't let him and Wendy in because she thought they were lying about the shapeshifter…
However, Bill could tell that Mabel was still on the fence. Just one more push… "And hey, since I'm feeling charitable today, I'll even sweeten the deal!," he said. "I've heard that you and Pine Tree have been going through some, shall we say… family problems. A little trouble in paradise, if you know what I mean. If you accept my deal, not only will I make it so that you will never have to worry about boys again… but I'll make sure that your parents will never split up." Mabel jerked her head up and stared at Bill with wide eyes, her mouth agape. Had she heard that right? "Yep, you heard me right!," said Bill. "My influence extends way, way beyond Gravity Falls, you know? All it'll take is a snap of my fingers, a little mind-altering here and there, some memory erasing, and bam! Your parents will stay with you for the rest of your life!"
That was a lie, of course. Even if Bill were to go through with his end of the bargain for unfathomable reasons, his powers only work within the boundaries of Gravity Falls. But it wasn't going to be like that forever, not if Bill Cipher had anything to say about it…
"You… You mean that?," Mabel whispered. "You'll really do that for me?" "Sure I will!," said Bill. "After all…" He held out his hand, which was covered in blue fire. "...what are friends for?" Mabel reached out to shake Bill's hand. She hesitated, but only for a very brief moment. Then, she grabbed Bill's hand and shook it, sealing the deal. "Okay, so you just want one of my puppets, right?," asked Mabel. "I'll have to go back to the shack and g–" "No, no, that won't be necessary, Shooting Star!," said Bill, still holding onto Mabel's hand. "In fact, you don't need to go anywhere, because I already see the puppet that I want right in front of me!"
Mabel's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. "W-w-what?," she whispered, her pupils shrinking into pinpricks. "You heard me. I want… YOU," Bill boomed loudly. Then, without warning, his grip tightened around Mabel's hand, and he yanked her so hard that it felt like her soul was being pulled out of her body - which was exactly what was happening.
For Mabel, it felt like her entire world was spinning. Then, she slowly came to a stop, and realized that she was floating in the air, something that she certainly wasn't able to do before, as she had tried many times when she was younger. Her hands were transparent. So was the rest of her body. She shoved her whole arm into her chest, passing straight through like there was nothing there. Then, she looked down at her own body, her own physical body, which was lying facedown on the ground, completely motionless. Suddenly, the body began to move on its own, and it slowly stood up and opened its eyes, which were yellow with slitted pupils.
"What… Did… You… DO?!," screamed Mabel, feeling more angry, confused, and terrified than she had ever felt. "What did you do to my body, you isosceles monster?!" "Okay, let's get something straight first, kid. I'm an equilateral monster. You already made that same joke nine chapters ago, it wasn't funny then, and it ain't funny now," Bill said irritatedly, now possessing Mabel's body. "And secondly, you're my puppet, now!" He laughed maniacally, then started gagging. "Ugh! Pleh! You put metal on your teeth? And people say I'm the weird one…" "Get out of my body, you triangle jerk!," yelled Mabel, flying towards Bill in the hopes of taking her body back. Instead, she flew right through him, like she wasn't even there.
"Ha! Nice try, kid! But you're gonna have to do a lot better than that!," Bill taunted. He immediately began checking out his new body. "Man, it has been so long since I've inhabited a body." Then, he started slapping himself in the face as hard as he could, relishing in the pain that it delivered. *slap* "Woo!" *slap* "Woo! Haha! Pain is hilarious! And two eyes? This thing's deluxe!" "Why are you doing this?!," cried Mabel, on the verge of tears. "You said that you were going to help me! You promised that… that…" "Promised you what? That I was gonna fix all of your problems and give your family a happily-ever-after?," Bill said mockingly. "You should've known better than to trust me, kid! I couldn't care less about your problems or fixing them. In fact, the only thing I care about right now is to destroy that laptop before your brother figures out the password!" "What?! Why would you do that?!," cried Mabel. "Listen kid, you, Pine Tree, and Mother Hen are getting way too close to figuring out some major answers," Bill said crossly. "I've got big plans comin' and I don't need you gettin' in my way. Adios, Shooting Star!"
Then, Bill started running back to the shack, while Mabel floated after him, trying to get him to stop. On the way there, Bill made sure to run into every tree branch and trip over every rock until his face was covered in scratches and bruises. Despite the pain, he laughed out loud like a lunatic, enjoying the pain he was in. And no matter what Mabel tried to do, it was all for naught, as she could do nothing in the ghostly state that she was currently in.
Meanwhile, Dipper was up in the attic all by himself, and he was relentlessly pounding on the keyboard, even though he could barely keep his eyes open. His face was constantly lit up by the screen turning red from every failed password, and he had long since become dulled from the incessant beeping. "Passwords. Passwords. Mabel. And. Sammy. Are. Useless," he muttered, hitting the keys with each word. He yawned loudly, then started lightly slapping his face to stay awake. "Come on, Dipper. You can do this. Don't give up!," he tried to encourage himself. Next to him was the cryptography book, its pages wide open. Dipper tried to focus on what was written on them, but the words were all blurry for his unfocused eyes.
But even if Dipper wasn't tired at all, it was likely that he still wouldn't have been able to focus on the work. His mind was still on the argument that he had with Mabel earlier. Actually, it was more than an argument. It was Dipper getting so fed up with Mabel's antics that he decided to hurt her as much as he could, something that he deeply regretted at the moment.
Now that he thought about it, why did he say such terrible things to his sister? If he had been in his right mind, it wouldn't have even crossed his mind to say something like that to her. Was he really so exhausted that it made him into a practically different person?
"Ugh, what am I doing?," he groaned, leaning back with his hands over his face. I can't believe I said that to her, he thought to himself. I'm such a moron! Sure, Mabel shouldn't have gone back on her promise, but that didn't mean I should've… done THAT to her…
Suddenly, he heard someone walk into the attic. He turned around and saw the last person he expected to see today - his own sister. Though there was something about her that was a bit… off. Why was her face so scratched up? Why did she have such a creepy smile on her face? And why did her eyes, for just a brief moment, seem to glow yellow?
Dipper shook his head, chalking it up to his mind playing tricks on him, which wasn't too surprising, considering how unbelievably tired he was. "Mabel–," he said, getting up and walking up to her. "Yep! That's me! Mabel Pines, your lovable twin sister!," Mabel said loudly, the creepy smile on her face still there. Dipper raised an eyebrow at her. "Oookaaaay…? Listen, I'm… I'm so sorry for what I said back there," he apologized. "I was tired, and I was in a bad mood, and I guess that visit from Bill messed me up more than I thought… but the point is, I shouldn't have acted like you only care about yourself. You don't! You help people all the time, and you always see the good in them, like Pacifica. You're not perfect, but… w-who is? And even though you broke your promise, I shouldn't have stooped to saying… that… to you. It was honestly pretty scummy of me. I hope you'll forgive me, and if you really want to work on that puppet show so you can impress Gabe… I'm cool with that. And I'll even come watch your play."
"Mm hm, sure, sure, nice to hear that," said Mabel, who seemed oddly uninterested in Dipper's apology. She looked past him, and her eyes landed on the laptop. The smile on her face grew larger. "Hey Dipper, you mind if I take a quick lookie-loo at that laptop?," she asked. Dipper was so surprised by what he heard that he didn't stop her as she walked past him, nor did he do anything when she picked up the laptop and observed it with an eerie grin. "Oh! You actually want to help me with that?," he asked in confusion. "I thought you wanted to focus on your puppet show. But you know what? T-this is great! I'm actually kind of glad you decided to change your mind. Oh, we should find Sammy and get him to help us too. He–"
CRASH! Without any warning, Mabel lifted the laptop above her head, then slammed it onto the floor, causing it to break and shatter into dozens of little pieces. Dipper slowly slumped to his knees, his eyes wide with shock. His mouth hung open, and he couldn't say anything. For him, it felt like his entire world went still. Then, to add further insult to injury, Mabel lifted her leg and stomped on the remnants of the laptop, laughing maniacally. Finally, Dipper was able to move. "No. No! Mabel, what are you doing?! STOP IT!," he yelled, running towards her and shoving her to the floor. Mabel fell painfully on her back, but her smile remained.
Dipper got down on his hands and knees, frantically trying to put the pieces together, as if that was going to fix anything. Of course, it was already too late for that. The laptop had been damaged beyond repair, and any chances of finding the author went away with it.
Dipper slowly got back on his feet, tears streaming down his face. He glared at Mabel hatefully, and the unnerving smile on her face only made him even angrier. "What is wrong with you?!," he shouted at her, clenching his hands into fists. "Why did you do that?! You just… just… destroyed the laptop! Were you that upset over what I said to you earlier?! You don't even look remorseful about it! You're just… smiling at me!" Mabel just grinned at him silently, still sitting on the floor. "Well?! Aren't you going to say anything, Mabel?! Anything that could at least make me understand why you did that just now?!," yelled Dipper. Mabel slowly stood up, then walked up to Dipper. For a moment, the two of them just stood there, staring at each other…
Then suddenly… POW! Mabel reared her fist back and punched Dipper directly in the nose. Dipper stumbled back in shock, and gently touched his nose. He felt a sharp pain there and quickly drew his hand away. His fingers were covered in blood. He stared at the blood on his fingers, then stared at Mabel, unable to believe what she had just done.
"...Beat it, Dipper," growled Mabel, the grin still plastered on her face. "Or I'll snap your neck with my bare hands." Dipper took a step back, even more shocked by what she said to him. Mabel, his own sister, the person who wouldn't have hurt a fly, had just threatened to kill him if he didn't leave. His drained, exhausted mind didn't even bother to question why she was acting so strangely, or why she seemed like a completely different person. Instead, he turned tail and ran out of the room, covering his bleeding nose while sobbing his eyes out.
Through it all, the real Mabel was forced to watch the whole thing, unable to do anything else. When Bill came into the attic, she tried to scream Dipper's name to get his attention, but of course, it didn't work. When Dipper confessed his apology to Bill, not knowing who he was really talking to, Mabel listened to every word and found herself a crying mess once again. When Bill crushed the laptop right in front of Dipper, Mabel cursed at Bill and even tried to attack him, but that didn't do anything either. And when Bill punched Dipper in the nose and threatened him to leave, Mabel was so angry and so horrified that all she could do was scream.
"Dipper, no!," she cried, watching him run out of the room. "Please, it's not me! It's Bill! Dipper!" "Heh! Welcome to the mindscape, kid! Without a vessel to possess, you're basically a ghost!," said Bill. He disdainfully gave the broken laptop one last kick. "Now that I've destroyed the laptop, I just need to destroy the journal." "The journal?!," Mabel gasped. "Yep! Without the laptop or the journal, nobody's gonna be able to get in my way!," laughed Bill.
"...I hate you," Mabel hissed, glaring at Bill with as much hatred as she could possibly muster. "Get in line, kid. Race ya to the bottom of the stairs!," said Bill. He suddenly ran out of the room, then jumped down the entire flight of stairs, crashing and bumping onto every step. Mabel gasped and quickly flew after him, deeply worried for her physical body.
She saw Bill in the kitchen. The dream demon was covered in more injuries from the fall, but was dealing with the pain remarkably well. He opened the fridge and took out a can of soda. "Human soda! I'm gonna drink it like a person!," he said, before pouring most of the drink down his throat, then pouring the rest of it over his eyes. The soda's acidity burned his eyes, but he enjoyed that sort of pain as well. "Hey! That's my body you're hurting, you jerk!," yelled Mabel. "Well, in case you've forgotten, Shooting Star, it's my body now!," Bill shot back.
After Bill was done with the soda, he then walked over to a cabinet and opened a drawer where they kept the utensils. "Where does Pine Tree keep that journal anyway?," asked Bill as he reached into the drawer, then proceeded to slam it onto his own arm repeatedly. "It's gotta be around here somewhere. Boy, these arms are durable." When he took his arm out again, there were a bunch of forks that pierced through the sweater sleeve and were sticking into his arm. Mabel had to repress a shudder at the sight of that, horrified at how carelessly Bill was treating her body. "Well, you're never gonna find it!," she said brazenly. "If I know Dipper, he's hidden the journal somewhere where you'll never find it!" Suddenly, Candy and Grenda entered the room. "Hey, Mabel! We lost one of our props so we borrowed your brother's journal to replace it! He's not gonna mind, will he?," asked Grenda. Somehow, neither of them noticed the forks that were stuck to their friend's arm. "Oh, of course he won't mind!," said Bill, glancing back at Mabel with a subtle sneer. "Besides, it's not like I respect him in any way, shape, or form. He's a complete crybaby, anyway." "Hey! Don't talk about my brother like that!," snapped Mabel.
Candy and Grenda exchanged confused glances. That… didn't sound like Mabel at all, or at least, not the one that they knew. But they decided to chalk it up to pre-show jitters. "Let's hurry, then! The show is going to start soon," said Candy. "Okay, girls! Let's do this!," said Bill, putting the exact amount of pep in his voice to make himself sound exactly like Mabel would. It was scarily accurate. "Girls, wait!," cried Mabel, trying to be heard. "That's not me! That's not me!" Of course, nobody except for Bill could hear her. Candy and Grenda went outside, then hitched a ride in Stan's car together. Mabel flew in front of the car, but the car simply went right through her and drove away. "Ugh, come on!," Mabel screamed in frustration.
Bill walked up to her, enjoying the misery she was in. "Pretty ironic, huh, Shooting Star?," he said mockingly. "The only reason you made that deal with me was to help your brother, and instead, you're gonna be the reason he loses everything that he's worked for." "Shut up, you… you… you a*ole!," yelled Mabel. "Whoa ho! You sure got a dirty mouth for someone so young. I wonder who taught you that word," Bill giggled hysterically. Mabel ignored him and tried one last time to get somebody's attention, somebody other than Bill. "HELLO?! IT'S ME, THE REAL MABEL! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!," she hollered at the top of her lungs.
Then, another car pulled up, and for a moment, Mabel hoped that someone really did hear her just now. But that turned out not to be the case. The car was being driven by Soos, with Wendy and Sammy as his passengers. "Hey, Mabel," said Soos, addressing Bill. "Ready for the puppet show?" "I sure am, Soos!," said Bill, jumping into the car. Sammy, who was the most observant out of all of them, immediately noticed the scratches and bruises on Mabel's face that had been inflicted by Bill. "Oh my gosh!," he gasped worriedly. "Mabel, what happened to you?" "I fell down a flight of stairs, poured soda into my eyes, and stuck forks into my arm!," Bill said proudly. "Ha! Good one, Mabel," Wendy chuckled, before gently elbowing Sammy. "Don't worry, dude. She probably just tripped or something." Sammy calmed down, though he still seemed a bit upset. "After the show is over, I'm patching you up myself," he said sternly.
"Okey dokey, Sammy!," said Bill, giving a playful salute. Other than a few slip ups here and there, he was doing surprisingly well posing as Mabel. Meanwhile, Mabel was trying to get their attention, but to no avail. Before the car was about to pull away, she glared at Bill through the car window. "You're not gonna get away with this, Bill! Dipper will find out about this, and when he does, he's gonna kick your butt!," she said. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about your brother, kid," Bill said ominously, slowly turning his head towards her. "After all, it's not like he's gonna be around much longer, is he?" After that, the car drove away, leaving Mabel floating in the air and staring after it. Her mind was racing. What did Bill mean when he said that Dipper wasn't going to be around much longer? Did he secretly know something that she didn't?
Now all alone, Mabel finally released all of her pent up rage into one loud scream that nobody else could hear except for herself. She flew up to the nearby totem pole and punched it out of anger, but her fist went right through it. That didn't stop her from punching it over and over again. "I hate you, Bill!," she screamed, tears of rage and sadness streaming down her face. "I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"
Eventually, she managed to simmer down, though she was still going through emotional turmoil that no child her age should ever go through. She tried to think of an idea. Dipper!, she thought to herself. I need to find him! He's super smart! He'll know what to do!
Mabel flew across the town as fast as she could, frantically searching for him. She had to admit, one good thing that came out of this whole ordeal was her newfound ability to fly and go through solid objects. Normally, she would've milked it for all it was worth, flying around the world and going anywhere she wanted, and maybe even pulling a prank or two. But this was not the time. Bill was out there, parading around in her body, and it was all her fault. She needed to fix this, but she knew she couldn't do it on her own. She needed to find Dipper.
After what felt like forever, she finally found him. He was sitting on top of the water tower, all by himself, and looking out at the horizon. Mabel floated down to his side. "Dipper! I made a huge mistake! Bill made a deal with me and I said yes and now he has my body and he's gonna destroy the journal and I can't do anything 'cause nobody can see or hear me and…" She trailed off. "Oh, right," she sighed. "I forgot. You can't see or hear me either…" The fact that Dipper did not move at all or do anything to acknowledge her existence indicated as much.
Mabel sighed heavily and was about to leave when she heard Dipper mumble under his breath. "I don't get it…" Mabel gasped and turned to face Dipper in shock. "Dipper?! C-can you actually hear me?!," she cried. "I don't get it…," Dipper mumbled again, burying his face in his knees. "What… happened?" Now Mabel understood. Dipper couldn't see or hear her. He still had no idea that she was right next to him. He was murmuring to himself, something that he actually did quite often when he was by himself. "We had a fight… I said some things I shouldn't have… Then she comes back… only to destroy the laptop… She actually hit me… and she was happy about it." His breath hitched for a moment, and he started crying again.
"What happened to her? What happened to… us? Was it my fault? Did I do something… wrong?," he whimpered. "N-no!," cried Mabel, shaking her head. "You didn't do anything wrong, Dipper! This is all my fault, not yours!" She knew that her brother couldn't hear a word of what she was saying, but she didn't care. "I-I-I was being selfish! Again! I fell in love with another boy and I bailed on you and Sammy for him, even after I promised you I'd help! Then I made a deal with Bill, and now things are even worse than before!" She started crying as well. "Please don't blame yourself. Please…" She hugged Dipper, and though her arms went right through him, it didn't stop her from trying. "I promise, if I somehow find a way out of this, I'll never abandon you ever again. I'll help you solve mysteries, I'll go through the journal with you, I'll help you find the author… I made a big mistake, Dipper. But don't worry. I'm gonna set things right."
She floated away with misty eyes, leaving Dipper on the water tower. She had a new destination in mind: the theatre where her puppet show was going to take place.
It didn't take long for her to find it. All she had to do was follow the cars. She couldn't help but feel a small burst of pride when she saw how many people were showing up for the puppet show. Her puppet show. She quickly squashed that feeling down. Now was not the time to pat herself on the back for a job well done. Right now, she was on a mission.
She floated through the wall of the theatre and found herself in the auditorium, where everyone was sitting and waiting for the show to start. In the crowd - which was a bit smaller than she had hoped - she could make out Stan, Sammy, Wendy, and Soos. Bill was there with them, still pretending to be Mabel. Mabel glowered at him, resisting the urge to fly down there and give him a piece of her mind. Instead, she remained afloat high above them, hoping that Bill wouldn't look up and see her. "Aw, nothing like the theater, huh guys?," asked Bill, wrapping his arms around Wendy and Soos. "Hey Soos, wanna hear the exact time and date of your death?" "Hehe, okay!," chuckled an unbothered Soos. "Mabel, are you sure you're feeling okay?," asked a worried Sammy. "You've been acting a little bit strange the entire way here."
"Oh, it's just pre-show jitters, nothing to worry your sweet little head over, Sammy," said Bill. "Anyway, I'm glad you all made it!" "Are you kidding me? I would never miss… whatever this is," said Stan, gesturing lamely to the stage. "Yeah, me too. Can't wait for the…," said Wendy as she yawned loudly, "...the show." Stan looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Yeesh! Looks like Dipper wasn't the only one who had trouble sleeping," said the conman. "Yeah, are you okay?," Sammy asked Wendy worriedly. "You seem exhausted. Did you get any sleep?"
Sure enough, Wendy had clearly seen better days. Her hair, while neatly brushed, was more ruffled than usual, her hat was a bit lopsided, and there were dark bags under her eyes, making her look like a raccoon. "I'm fine, Sammy," Wendy said tiredly. "Just… had a couple of bad dreams this past week." "Dreams? What kind of dreams?," asked Sammy.
Wendy frowned and unconsciously reached up to touch her neck, her fingers brushing against the scar that was left behind by Eliza's knife. "Just… dreams. Nothing to worry about," she said unconvincingly. "Welp! Guess it's about time!," Bill said brightly. "Wish me luck, guys!" He ran towards the backstage as the others cheered him on from behind. Once he was out of earshot, though, he snickered to himself. "Idiots. I'm gonna enjoy messing with those useless fleshbags when the time comes," he muttered to himself. Nobody heard him… That is, nobody except for Mabel, who was floating above him and listening to his every word. Upon hearing what Bill just said, she narrowed her eyes in anger, now more determined than ever to stop whatever plans he has in store for all of them. But what could she possibly do?
Mabel tried to think of a plan. Yet, the harder she tried, the more it eluded her. "Come on!," she groaned. "Concentrate, girl! Just think! What would Dipper do in this situation? What would Dipper do? What would Dipper do?" She mentally repeated that mantra to herself. Then, it suddenly came to her! What did Bill say earlier? That without a vessel, she was basically a ghost. Of course! All she needed was a vessel! …Wait, what was a vessel?
Meanwhile, Bill was walking through the backstage, trying to find those two leeches that were always clinging onto Shooting Star. What were their names again? Bah, he couldn't even be bothered to remember! All he needed to know was that they knew where the journal was, and the sooner he could get his hands on it and destroy it forever, the better.
Eventually, he found them, or rather, they found him. "There you are!," Candy cried with relief, grabbing Bill's hand and dragging him towards Grenda, who was holding a clipboard. "We were looking all over for you! The play is about to start." "Yeah, yeah. Listen, about the journal–," Bill said impatiently. "And here's a copy of the script, Mabel!," said Grenda, handing him several pages that were stapled together and covered in glitter and stickers. "Just in case you forget any of your lines." Bill stared at the script in his hands, and for a moment, he considered throwing it back in the fat one's face while demanding to tell him where they put the journal.
But for some reason, the script caught his eye, and not in a good way. He skimmed over what was written, and the first page alone was enough to make him recoil in disgust. "Ugh, what is this garbage?!," he said angrily. Candy and Grenda were taken aback by his sudden outburst. "Seriously, what is this?!," Bill continued. "A love story between Shooting Star and Puppet Boy?! The mayor giving her an award?! Puppet Boy goes off to fight in a war?! This script is the most disgusting piece of trash I've ever read in my entire trillions of years of existence! Who wrote this?!" Candy and Grenda could only stare at him. "You did," they said in unison.
"Oooh, no!," said Bill, crumpling up the script. "Ya know what? The journal can wait! We are not letting anyone witness this, this… travesty of a puppet show! I'm as twisted and cruel as they come, but even I won't sink that low!" The other two girls were understandably bewildered, having no idea what Mabel was talking about, or why she was even talking like that. "So… what should we do, then?," asked Candy, feeling a bit frightened. "I'll tell you what we're going to do, Glasses Girl," said Bill. "We are gonna rewrite the whole thing from start to finish!"
"Glasses Girl?," Candy murmured in confusion. "But how? We can't rewrite the entire thing! The play starts in five minutes!," Grenda panicked. "Hey, if I can live inside the Nightmare Realm for one trillion years and come out of it only slightly more insane than before, then this is gonna be a cinch for me!," Bill said confidently. "You two just focus on replacing the props, while I work on our new script." He peeked through the curtains to look at the audience, and his eyes immediately landed on Stan. A deranged smile slowly crept onto his face. He turned around to face the other girls, and they instinctively stepped back, scared out of their wits.
"What do you say?," he asked. "Wanna give those people out there a real show?"