Taking Shelter(BillDip)

What can Never be Taken Back.

"Shit. Shit." Dipper had to get out of this car now He felt like he was going to be sick.

But he couldn't. Not yet.

"Mabel?" His voice came out as no more than a whisper.

"Mabel!" The brown haired boy called again, louder than before. But the passenger side door was empty, and in place of the door was a gaping hole.

Swallowing, Dipper crawled out between the seats, trying not to think about the body of his friend hanging there, unmoving.

Once he was out, he took a deep breath, trying to calm the questions swirling madly inside his mind.

How could this have happened? What even happened in the first place? Where could Mabel have gone?

But none of those things mattered. Dipper had to concentrate on just one thing: finding his twin. Thinking, questioning... everything else could wait until after he had Mabel's warm hand in his own. Until he heard her voice. Until he saw her and knew she was alright.

"Mabel!" Dipper shouted into the night. "Mabel!" He cupped his hands to lips like a megaphone.

From his left there came a high pitched scream, and Dipper immediately forced his aching limbs to run.

"Mabel! Mabel!" Branches clawed at Dipper's skin, picking at his clothes and gouging into his arms and face. Raising his arms, he attempted to protect his eyes from the groping fingers of the trees, focusing on the direction he'd heard the scream come from.

This can't be happening.

The thought appeared through the fog of his mind like a shining beacon.

This has to be a dream.

It has to be.

"Mabel!" Dipper screamed desperately. Suddenly the trees came to an abrupt end, and Dipper found himself balancing on the edge of a cliff.

"Holy shit!" He fell backward onto the earth, inching away from the drop. If he'd gone one step further...

Then realization struck him.

"Mabel?" Dipper asked softly, not sure whether or not he was more afraid to hear an answer, or to not hear one.

Silence.

"Mabel?" A little louder. "Mabel!" Now he was screaming, tears burning his eyes. He didn't want... he couldn't imagine...

Not like this...

Swallowing, Dipper peeked over the edge.

And there, at the bottom of the cliff, he could see the darkened mark of his sister's mangled body illuminated by the dim light of the stars.

Turning away, Dipper proceeded to spill the remaining contents of his stomach across the earth.

This can't be happening.

He coughed, hot tears burning in rivulets down his cheeks.

This can't be happening!

"This can't be happening!" His cry sliced through the silence, and Dipper immediately burst into tears.

How?

How?

Would it be him down there if he'd forced Mable to sit in the back seat?

Did he want it to be?

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Dipper slammed his fists into the earth until his knuckles were bloody. Was he actually relieved? What was wrong with him?

She was his sister. His twin. They'd always been together.

Always.

Another sob erupted from his throat, and Dipper attempted to stand.

She could still be alive. She could need help, she could...

His knees buckled and he crumbled helplessly to the ground.

"Mabel. Soos." He wept, burying his face in the dirt. He had to do something.

There had to be a way to fix this.

There had t be something to undue it all.

To go back. To go back to before.

There had to be a deal that could be struck.

That small flicker of hope immediately ignited into a fire.

"Bill Cipher! I want to make a deal!" Dipper screamed to the sky, his voice cracking. For a long moment there was nothing but silence. And then a familiar voice responded.

"Didn't think you'd be calling back so soon, Pine Tree." The pyramid shaped figure appeared to Dipper's left, facing away from the dirty and injured boy. "Looks like you had quite a lot of fun without me."

"Cut the Crap Cipher. I want you to bring them back." Dipper spit. The demon turned his eye to the boy.

"Them? Is that really what you want?"

"Her then. Bring her back. Bring my sister back!" His voice rose.

"Even I can't do that, Pine tree." The triangle's voice boomed from all around the boy, as if Dipper were listening to it through headphones that were turned up too high.

"You have to. You have to! I don't care what it takes. Just, please. Please Bill." Dipper pleaded, digging his fingers into the dirt.

"I can't bring her back, but I can do something almost as good."

"Anything. Anything."

"Then let's make a deal."

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