Monsters Within the Falls

Chapter 10

Mabel unscrewed the lid of her hamster ball and dove into the lake. It was wonderful to not be confined! She sped through the water effortlessly, enjoying the sensation of the rushing bubbles on her skin.

She swam to the waterfall, which is where Candy and Grenda said to meet. She hadn't seen either of them yet, just talked on the phone. But they both assured her that they would meet her there. She wondered what kind of creatures they were.

When she reached the waterfall, she looked around. She had expected to see Candy and Grenda on the shore, but they were nowhere in sight. She twisted in the water, looking for them on all sides, when there was a tugging on her tail. Something strong pulled her under the water, and she spun to face it. To her surprise, she saw Grenda holding onto her tail. She now had the bottom half of an octopus, not unlike Ursula in The Little Mermaid. However, her tentacles were orange, she was wearing a pink tank top that matched nicely, and she looked much happier.

"Mabel!" Grenda said. Her voice carried clearly through the water, though they were both about ten feet under.

"Oh, Grenda! That's so cool!" Mabel said, looking at her tentacles. "I didn't know you were a water creature too!"

"I know, right?" Grenda said in her abrasive voice. "It's awesome! And look at Candy!" She pointed.

Mabel looked in the direction Grenda was pointing and saw Candy hiding in a clump of seaweed. She looked more or less humanoid, but her skin was greenish and her hair blended perfectly with the weed she was hiding it. Her hands and feet were webbed, but she was still wearing her glasses.

"I am a nymph!" She said, swimming towards Mabel and Grenda.

"This is great!" Mabel said, beaming, "We can still all hang out together!" She swam forward and hugged them. They all laughed happily.

The three girls spent the day playing games and exploring the lake. They dived all the way to the bottom, where they found a few gold coins, and raced from one side of the lake to the other. They jumped and flipped and dove and laughed. It was one of the best days of Mabel's life.

------

Dipper raced back to the Shack. He barged inside and shut the door quickly behind him. "Grunkle Ford!" he called, heading towards the basement.

"What is it, Dipper?" Ford's voice came from the kitchen. Dipper hurried to him.

"F-ford," He huffed, out of breath, "I saw- I saw Bill."

Ford looked worried. "Bill Cipher? Oh, that's the last thing we need right now! Where-?"

Dipper shook his head and cut Ford off "There's more," he said, "Bill transformed too."

Ford's eyes went wide. "Bill was affected? How? What did he become?" he pulled out his journal and a pen, preparing to take notes.

"I don't know how," Dipper said, still breathing heavily, "But he's human. Well, mostly. He still has some of his power but other than that-"

"He's human?" Ford asked in astonishment. "Are you sure it was Bill?"

Dipper nodded. "Positive." He handed Ford the sketch of Bill he had drawn in the forest. "He talked to me. He wants me to tell him how to turn back."

Ford scoffed. "I can't see Bill attempting self-reflection. Looks like he's going to be stuck for awhile." He said dismissively.

"Ford, he thinks there's another way. He's not going to take no for an answer. He- he's going to do something terrible if I don't help him."

Ford looked at Dipper sharply. "You didn't make a deal with him, did you?"

"No," Dipper said quickly, "But he said that different rules apply when he has a physical form."

"A limited physical form, perhaps." Ford muttered to himself. He thought for a moment. "I've got it! If he was possessing someone when that person came in contact with the water, that might have caused him to transform and forced him out of them. His power is diminished, and he wants his original form back in order to cause..." He trailed off.

"Cause what?" Dipper asked quickly. "Do you know what he wants?"

"I need to show you something." Ford said, gesturing for Dipper to follow him. They went down to Ford's lab, where he showed Dipper a chalkboard covered in chaotic drawings and equations.

"This is what Bill wants. A catastrophe that I call 'Weirdmageddon'. It would allow him to take control of this world, and cause as much chaos as he wanted. He would also be able to gain a physical form. In a human form, he cannot carry out his plans. But in a fully restored physical form under Weirdmageddon, he would be able to do almost anything. We can't let that happen."

"What can he do in a human form?" Asked Dipper. "Is he still a threat, or could we really just leave him as he is?"

Ford looked at him with a worried expression. "I honestly don't know, Dipper."

"But he said that if I didn't help him, he would hurt Mabel, and you and Stan and everyone else! What am I going to do?"

"I'll have to see for myself exactly what's going on. Stay close to me until you see him again. In the meantime, I am working on an interesting mixture, come and see." He walked over to a lab table that was cluttered with beakers, burners, and bottles of strange substances.

"It looks like an alchemy lab," Dipper said.

"It is," Ford replied, shooting Dipper an approving glance. "I am developing a potion that might allow easier transformation. If this works, we will still need to evaluate our character to become ourselves again, but it might make it easier. Along with another interesting... side effect."

"Side effect?" Dipper asked, alarmed. "What would it do?"

Ford bent down to study a book of equations, but continued talking. "If I am correct, it will also allow us to change back and forth at will after the first transformation."

Dipper stared. "Why?"

Ford laughed. "You might be surprised at how attached you become to those legs. Would you really want to change back forever?"

"I don't think I'd mind much," Dipper mumbled.

Ford looked at him. "These creatures are a part of us, Dipper. However we may look on the outside, we will always be connected to this part of ourselves."

Dipper looked away, tilting his hat down so Ford wouldn't see his eyes. He didn't like being told that he was going to have a little bit of this timid, jumpy deer inside him forever.

"And personally," Ford added, "I quite like these wings. They're very useful." He unfurled them, stretching.

"Well, you got something cool!" Dipper exclaimed, unable to hold his feelings in anymore. "All I got are these stupid twig legs and a pair of twitchy ears. Mabel can breathe underwater and you and Stan can both fly and I'm just sitting here looking like a freak! What's cool about that?" He balled his fists at his sides, trying not to let Ford see that his eyes were starting to fill.

Ford was silent. Dipper turned and walked towards the elevator to go back up to the Shack.

"Dipper," Ford said softly. Dipper looked over his shoulder at his uncle, but Ford didn't have anything else to say.