Trust Only Me (A Gravity Falls Fanfiction) [DISCONTINUED/COMPLETED]

Only Time Will Tell

Dipper sat in his room, again with his nose buried in the journal. It was almost like the first month of the summer, before everything awful started happening. Before Gideon summoned Bill, even before Ford emerged from the portal. He could've sworn he was going insane from paranoia lately, he wouldn't let the journal leave his hands and barely left his room in the attic at all. Mabel would always try and tell him not to worry, but how could he not?! It could happen at any time. Hell, Bill could kill him while he was sleeping for all he knew! The demon could still have access to his mind, even if the deal was off. A metal plate in his head was actually sounding tempting for once! Dipper sighed irritatedly and fell back into his bed, clutching the journal to his chest. He heard the door open and close, and Mabel came into the room, walking over and sitting next to her brother on his bed.

"Dipper... You've barely been out of here in like, three days, bro-bro! You need to actually get outside!" She huffed, tugging slightly on his shirt sleeve. Dipper only groaned.

"And if I don't want to?" He looked unamused and slightly angry, the dark circles making his glare all the more unsettling. Mabel flinched and frowned, then took a deep breath and grinned.

"You don't have a choice, silly!" She squealed and pulled him up off the bed. Dipper squeaked himself and flailed slightly, stumbling and just barely keeping hold of the journal. He quickly stuffed it into his vest and growled slightly in irritation as Mabel began to drag him down the attic stairs. Wendy and Soos looked slightly surprised to even see the kid, but greeted him gently as he walked by with his sister. Once the door slammed, Wendy frowned and sighed.

"He just hasn't been the same since he read that book..."

**

Mabel made it to the woods, finally stopping but not letting go of Dipper's hand. The male looked even more awful in the sunlight, messy hair and droopy eyes. Mabel sighed, but kept a smile on her face.

"So, how 'bout it, Dipping Sauce? Let's go on an adventure, like before!" Her eyes were hopeful, and Dipper just couldn't say 'no' to his sister, despite his awful grumpiness. So they set out, walking through the woods and viewing a few of the creatures they'd already discovered, like a few gnomes and what may have been a unicorn. Dipper didn't see the unicorn and guessed that Mabel was lying, she had never seen one and it could've easily been something else. He began to get more nervous the further his sister pulled him into the woods.

"Mabel... We really shouldn't be going this deep into the woods. I-I don't remember this place..." Dipper could feel his heartbeat quicken from paranoia. Mabel didn't turn.

"That's the point, Dippin' Dots! Let's find something new!" She grinned ahead, giggling slightly. "Being afraid is just excitement in disguise!" The woods were getting thicker and darker as they continued, only adding to Dipper's fright. His hand started to shake slightly as they walked, Mabel slowing down and looking around. "I have no idea where we are! ...Perfect!" The wind rustled around in the leaves, probably covering any sound of approaching danger.

"...Let's look around then." Dipper said quietly, really just wanting to get this over with so Mabel would be happy. They started to explore the area, looking around bushes and into what could be rabbit holes. Mabel eventually pointed out a cave and waved Dipper over, who took out his flashlight and shone it through the darkness. They took a few steps inside, looking around, Dipper inspecting the walls and floor. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be around. Then, Mabel screamed. Dipper almost jumped out of his skin and ran over, looking around. "Mabel?! Are you okay?!" Mabel turned to Dipper and simply pouted.

"Aw...you scared the cute little bunny away." The girl's scream had really been a squeal of delight, for the girl had a love for animals. Dipper glared.

"I thought you were in danger! Only scream if it's actually something that'll hurt you!" He snapped, and Mabel hung her head.

"Sorry, Dipdip." She said quietly, and turned back to the cave opening. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all... "Let's get outta this cave, there might be a dragon or something. Don't wanna disturb that." She joked slightly, forcing herself to laugh, and walked out of the cave. Dipper followed close behind, sighing slightly. He took out the journal and turned it over in his hands before quickly stuffing it back in his vest. For some reason, having it around made him feel safer. Mabel began to walk ahead without him noticing, then turned. "We could just go back home...if you wa--" At that very moment, Mabel didn't get to finish her sentence. Something swooped through the trees, and suddenly, she was gone. Dipper stared, rubbing his eyes. That had happened so fast, where did she...oh no. He started in a sprint through the trees, running after whatever had just gone by.

"Mabel!! Oh my god. Mabel!" He yelled in a panic, looking up and suddenly catching sight of one of Mabel's flashy sweaters...above the trees. He ran until he reached a clearing where the trees cleared up, staring up into the sky in terror. A gryphon. It was a gryphon that had taken his sister, it was flying low over the trees. How was he going to catch that?! He kept running, following the path he thought the gryphon was taking, trying to stay in the clearing so he could see. Suddenly, something from further off, maybe from in town or near the Shack, shot through the sky and hit the gryphon. It's bird head squawked loud, the creature tumbling from the sky and crashing into the trees. Dipper immediately went running as fast as he could over to where he thought it crashed. The site of the crash wasn't hard to find, the crumpled body of a gryphon lying within broken and battered trees. ...Where was Mabel?! He frantically glanced around, suddenly hearing quiet sounds from somewhere near the gryphon. He ran over there to find Mabel, battered and scratched, bleeding in some places, but nothing was lethal. She was crying. "M-Mabel?.. Mabel, look up, I'm here. A-Are you hurt? You have to t-tell me where, or I can't help you--" He stuttered, Mabel just looked up and pulled her brother into a hug. She was shivering. Dipper reluctantly hugged his sister back, then pulled away and helped her stand. He realized that most of the blood she was covered in was the gryphon's. It was probably dead. Mabel looked back at the creature, whimpering.

"Wh-what killed it... I-it didn't mean any harm...." She whispered. Dipper looked shocked.

"Didn't mean any harm?! It could've killed you, Mabel!"

"No... I-it was just doing what it had to.. It d-didn't deserve to die.." The female sobbed, clinging to her brother.

Dipper scowled and pushed her off slightly. "It was going to take you back to it's nest and tear you to pieces to feed to its creepy abomination bird-lion children!!" He yelled. "What if the gryphon hadn't been shot from the sky, huh?! You would be dead!" He found himself glaring, tearing up mainly out of pure fear from what could've happened to his sister. He was probably more scared than her. Mabel sniffled, wiping away some tears and glaring back.

"It didn't mean--"

"It DID mean! It would have hurt you. You can't show mercy all the time, Mabel! Doing stuff like that will just end up getting you killed!!" Dipper growled. Mabel flinched, just staring with tears falling from her lashes. "I won't always be around to help you, Mabel-- If you're going to act like this, you'll never be able to protect yourself!" The male finished, still breathing hard from frustration and plain physical exhaustion. Mabel didn't answer, she just looked down, then let out another tiny sob, running off into the woods, in the direction of the Shack. "Mabel! Wait--" He reached an arm out after her, then stepped back, realizing how harsh he had just been. That hand closed into a fist along with his other and he turned, running off the other way. What did she think of him now? Could he even go back? The paranoia was back. It was terrifying. Like the forest was closing in on him. He didn't know which way was home. He didn't know where to go. Everything was spinning. He stumbled, stopping in his tracks and wobbling, falling to the forest floor in a faint.

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Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took so long, writer's block is a b*tch... I hope I can get back to updating regularly again!