~~~~~~~~~Dipper's POV~~~~~~~~~
The day started with (y/n), Leo, Mabel, and I in the Gravity Falls library. A few days ago at the bunker, Soos had found a briefcase which turned out to be a broken computer.
Soos was able to fix it though, and we met up here to finally see what it had inside. I smiled at the thought. "Alright, guys, today's the big day!"
"Big day!!!"
"Soos finally fixed up the laptop. If this thing works, we could learn the identity of the author and unravel the greatest mysteries of Gravity Falls! You guys ready?"
"Hell yeah!!!"
"Open it!!!" (y/n) yelled after Leo.
I placed it on the table, opening it as it began to beep. "This is it, this is it...!!!"
It had 'Welcome' above a lot of symbols, all of smiling as (y/n) yelled in excitement. "It worked!!!"
"Haha, YEAH!!!" Mabel raised her arms in success.
Beep
I looked over, groaning at the computer. "Ugh, of course! A password!"
"Don't you worry, bro bro!" Mabel placed a hand on my shoulder. "With our four brains together, there is literally nothing that can distract us from-! Did you hear that?"
We all turned around to see a boy who was surrounded by several children. He had bright blonde hair wrapped in a ponytail, bright blue eyes, and an obnoxious voice. He also had a puppet in each hand, singing with a smile.
"All my life I've been dreaming, of a love that's right for me! And now I finally know her name and it's- sing with me kids."
"Literacy!!!"
"I finally understand what all the buzz is about! Reading!!!" He spoke with the Bee puppet, then the Book puppet. "Gimme some of that honey!!!" He began to make the puppets make out, making me horribly cringe.
Eesh this guy was weird.
Mabel, on the other hand, had different idea. She had raised a pop-up book that opened with a heart, making beating sounds as she stared at the boy. "Ba-bump, ba-bump!"
"Oh boy."
"Thank you, thank you!" He said as the children cheered.
"Just when I was accepting my loneliness, of course you show up at my doorstep!!!" She had her hands on her cheeks, staring at the boy.
I didn't care about any of it, until (y/n) softly nudged my arm, both of us looking over at Leo. He was now crossing his arms and slightly gripping his sleeves, staring at Mabel with a defeated look.
(y/n) and I exchanged a glance of worry; Leo must've noticed our expressions because he quickly regained his composure, letting out a heavy sigh. "So, password, what do we got?"
I took out a book from one of the shelves. "Okay, this cryptology book says there's 7.2 million eight letter words. I'll type, you guys read."
"Uh, Pinetree?"
I noticed (y/n) pointing away, and I saw Mabel already making her way to the boy. I let out a sigh, shaking my head a bit. "Three heads is good enough."
We typed in a few passwords before Mabel walked back over. We could tell Leo was pretty salty about it because of his tone of voice. "How'd that go?"
"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?"
Beep
"WHAT?!?" I yelled. "Mabel, are you serious?!?"
"I don't know what happened!!! I got lost in his eyes and his ponytail!!! I'm gonna be so embarrassed on Friday if I don't have anything!!!" She gripped her hair in a panic.
"But what about cracking this password?!?"
"Yeah!!! You know, Mystery Club?!?" (y/n) finished my thought.
"If you help me with this just a couple of days I promise I'll help you with the password!!! Please, pretty please!!!" She kneeled down, whispering with puppy eyes. "It's for love...!!!"
Waiting a few seconds, I looked up at (y/n), who glanced once at Leo in worry before giving me a shrug. I then let out a sigh. "Alright, okay-"
"YES!!!" She hugged the two of us. "THANK YOU!!! THESE GUYS, THEY'RE NUMBER ONE!!!"
She pulled away, then gave Leo a tight hug, who tensed up at the action. He let out an awkward chuckle, forcing on a smile.
As we walked out of the library, I noticed (y/n) was a bit behind us, making me raise an eyebrow. She was looking at her arms, scratching the areas that were hidden by the gloves.
"You okay?"
"Hm?" She looked up, smiling a bit before running over. "Yeah, just got bitten by a mosquito."
"Alright."
I won't lie, on the way home, there was a strange feeling that followed us..
It was as if there were eyes following our every move..
...
Nah, I'm probably just being paranoid.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the past few days, we mostly worked on Mabel's puppet show. And between breaks, we would try to guess the code.
Before we knew it, it was already Thursday night, and the two of us were in bed.
Mabel looked up at her puppets. "Goodnight, my babies!" She took the Gabe puppet, making it kiss the Mabel puppet before whispering. "Soon, Gabe Benson..!"
Beep
"Ugh, wrong password!!! Wrong, wrong, ugh!!!" I gripped my hair, getting so frustrated with this.
Mabel looked at me. "Don't stay up all night, Dipper. Last time you got this sleep deprived you tried to eat your own shirt."
I hadn't even realized I was already chewing on my shirt, spitting it out before sitting back up. "... Just a few more tries."
A few more hundred tries.
I decided to go up to the roof, trying several more passwords. At this point, I was getting desperate. There had to be some shortcut to find out what the code was! M
But who would know about secret codes..?
Suddenly, the atmosphere turned cold, and before I knew it, everything around me when gray. I gripped my sweater, shivering at the chilly air and at the nervousness that grew in me, when a familiar yellow triangle formed in front of me.
"I THINK I KNOW A GUY!!!"
This day couldn't possible get any worse...
"Well well well, you're awfully persistent, Pinetree!!! Hats off to you!!!" He took off his top hat, causing the world to turn side ways for a second as I screamed, then fell back onto the roof.
"You again!!!" I rightly hugged the computer, incase he tried anything.
"Did you miss me?! Admit it, you missed me~!!"
"Hardly!!! You worked for Gideon, you tried to destroy my uncle's mind!!!"
"It was just a job, kid!!! No hard feelings!!!" He let out a laugh, growing a lot bigger. "I've been keeping an EYE ON YOU since then, and I must say I'm impressed!"
"Really?"
"You deserve a prize!!! Here, have a head that's always screaming!!!" He clapped his hands once, making a screaming head appear and land near me as I backed away with a scream, then it disappeared. "The point is I like you! How's about you let me give you a hint, huh? I only ask for a small... FAVOR in return."
"I'd never do a favor for you!!! Don't forget who defeated you last time!!!"
"Right, you 'defeated' me. Well if you ever change your mind, I'll be here for you ready to make a deal~!!! Hey, wanna here my impression of you in about three seconds?!?" He began to scream while flailing his arms around.
I woke screaming and waving my arms in the same way. Quickly shutting up, I took a deep breath to calm down. I felt incredibly tired though...
Still, I could never trust Bill, he's bad news. Anything that relates to him is horrible.
I walked down to the kitchen, seeing Stan, Mabel, Leo, and (y/n) getting breakfast as I yawned. "Hey guys..."
"Whoa, bag check for Dipper's eyes!" Stan laughed, looking around. "Nobody?"
"Babe, what happened to you..?!" (y/n) cupped my cheek in worry, but Mabel answered for me.
"Dipper, I told you to get some sleep last night!" She took the blender, which was filled with a pink liquid and dinosaur toys. "Here, wake up with some Mabel juice, it has plastic dinosaurs in it~!"
"It's like if coffee and nightmares had a baby." Stab replied to it.
I nodded for them to follow me to the hall. "Guys, listen, last night I had a dream with Bill in it."
(y/n) and Leo immediately grew tense, Mabel tilting her head. "Wait, hold up, the triangle guy?"
(y/n) crossed her arms W-What did he say..?"
"He said he'd give me the code to the laptop if I gave him something. Like I'd actually trust Bill, right?"
"Keep that mindset, Dipper. Bill's good at manipulation, he'll find any negative reason to make you trust him." Leo answered in a serious town, and I noticed (y/n) slightly scratching her arms.
I had noticed that all week, ever since we were in the library. She was constantly scratching over her gloves, hiding the action. I would ask her about it, but she'd always change the subject.
Maybe it had to do with a witch thing?
Mabel wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Don't worry, bro, today's the day that the Mystery Club is back in action! We'll help you crack that code! I just gotta hand off my puppet stuff to my production crew!"
"Production crew?" I asked.
Mabel led us outside where Candy and Grenda stood with many of the puppet stuff. Candy fixed her glasses a bit. "We read the script, very emotional."
"I cried like eight times!!!" Grenda replied.
"Hey, ladies and gents." Everyone turned to see Gabe skating over with his puppets. Uh, does he ever take those off?
A bright smile grew on Mabel's face. "Gabe!!!"
"I was just blading by, helps me dry out my ponytail after a shower." He took off his helmet, waving his hair around. I was cringing way too much, (y/n) was disgusted, and Leo was trying to control his anger.
Grenda smiled. "Hubbity-hubbuty!!!"
Candy spoke spoke something in another language. Downside of only knowing English.
Mabel ran over to him. "It's so great to see you! I was just working on the world's greatest puppet show! It has puppets!!!"
"Your passion is so refreshing, Mabel! Unlike the girl from last night's puppet show. Single stitch on one puppet, cross stitch on the other?!? I was like: Uh-uh!!!"
"Cross... huh?"
"Naturally I deleted her from my cell phone list."
"Naturally?!?" She let out an awkward laugh.
Gabe have her a smile. "I know you won't let me down though. Based on what you said the other day you must be a puppet expert!"
"You know, Gabe, you look pretty sweaty!!! You should really talk your shirt off!!! Right? Aren't we all thinking that?" Grenda asked, making the rest of us cringe.
"Later, ladies!" With that, he skated away, Mabel staring in disbelief.
After two seconds of silence, Leo walked over to her, trying to give his best comforting smile. "Don't worry, M, you don't have to prove yourself to..-"
"GAH!!! We gotta up our game, girls!!!" Mabel yelled, completely ignoring Leo and turning to her friends. "Did you hear that thing he said about the stitches?!?"
"Don't worry, Mabel, your group can handle it!!!" Grenda stretched one of the puppets too much, breaking its arms off. "... oops."
Candy raised a puppet with many, many, many eyes glued to it. "How many eyes does a face have again?"
Soos was also trying to keep a lot of the background things on top of the car. "I got it... I got it..." He fell with everything. "I'm not okay!!!"
"AHH!!! Okay okay, I'm back on fabrication. (y/n), I need your help designing!!!" Before (y/n) could complain, Mabel grabbed her wrist and began dragging her away. "Leo, get me my lint roller!!!"
When there was no reply, we all looked to see Leo was nowhere in sight.
I won't lie, I felt bad for him..
Mabel let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, back on duty!!!"
I quickly ran over to be in front of her. "Whoa, whoa!!! Hey!!! You just said you were going to help me!!!"
"Dipper, this sock crisis just bumped up to a code argyle!!! The laptop can wait!!!"
"Mabel, do you seriously think that your random crush of the week is more important than uncovering the mysteries of this town?!? You're obsessed!!!"
"I'm obsessed?!? Look at you!!! You look like a vampire!!! And not the hot kind!!!"
"But you said you were going to help me today!!!"
She was now holding a puppet. "Well I can help you, with tickles!!!" She began to tickle my sides, and I laughed a bit before pushing her hand away, getting angry.
"Okay fine, you know what, I'll do it one my own!!!"
And with that, I stormed off. I have been helping her with this all week, ALL WEEK!!! And what does she do in return?!? She ignores my requests!!!
I just can't believe Mabel!!! And this time I don't even have (y/n) either!!! Just perfect!!!
Letting out a sigh, I went up to the attic and sat down by the window typing random words as the passwords, everything was useless.
Mabel was useless.
"Too many failed entries." I heard the computer say, looking at the screen in a panic. "Initiate date erase in five minutes."
"No no no no!!! I'm gonna loose everything?!? I only have one more try?!?"
A chill ran down my spine as the world around became gray once more, and the same now familiar demon floated in front of me.
"Well well well!!! Someone's looking desperate~!!!" Bill's loud voice filled the room.
I growled in anger. "I thought I told you to leave me alone!!!"
"I can help you, kid, you just need to hear out my demands~!!!"
I looked at the timer, biting my lip at the thought. "Ugh, what crazy thing do you want anyways?!? To eat my eat my soul?!? To rip out my teeth?!? Are you gonna replace my eyes with baby heads or something?!?"
"Yeesh, kid, relax!!! All I want is a puppet!!!"
I raised an eyebrow. "A puppet? What are you playing at..?"
"Everyone loves puppets, and it looks to me like you've got a surplus!!!"
"I- I don't know, man, Mabel worked really 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? How many times have you sacrificed for her, huh? And when has she ever returned the favor?"
Gripping my sleeves, I glanced out the window, seeing my sister, then the computer.
He was right, she had done nothing for me, even after how much I've helped her with every single boy she meets!!!
... but...
"(y/n) has told me several times not to trust you, I won't do it."
"So you don't trust me but you trust her, huh?"
"What's that suppose to mean..?"
"How much do you really know about her, Pinetree? Your little girlfriend has a lot of secrets, and you know that for a fact. Her gloves? Her powers? It doesn't worry you at all?"
I stayed quiet for a while. "Well- th-that's her personal information, I can't bother her about it."
"You said it yourself, Ciphers can't be trusted~!"
My blood ran cold, looking up at him. "She- she's not-!!!"
"Tick tock, kid!!!" He offered a hand to be, which was surrounded in blue flames. I kept looking at them outside, the computer, his hand.
I...
I had no choice!
"Ugh, just one puppet...?!? Fine!!!" I shook his hand, taking the leap of faith. "... So what puppet are you gonna pick anyways?"
"Mm, let's see. Eeny- meeny- miny- YOU!!!"
"WHAT?!?"
Before I could understand what was happening, I was somehow ripped away from my own physical body, making me a ghost!
"What?!? This can't be happening!!! What did you do to my body?!?"
Bill, who had now possessed my body, give me a big sinister smile. "Sorry, kid, but you're my puppet now!!!" He began to loudly cackles evilly as he threw the laptop on the floor, harshly stepping on it and breaking it.
I was seriously panicking now. "Oh my gosh, this can't be happening...!!! This can't be happening!!! I knew I should've listened to (y/n)!!!"
"Whoa, whoahohoh!!!" He wobbled over to the mirror. "Man, it has been so long since I've inhabited a body!!! Pain is hilarious!!! And two eyes?!? This thing's deluxe!!!"
"I don't understand, why are you doing this?!? I thought we had a deal!!!"
"Look, kid, you've been getting way to close to figuring out some major answers, and I've got big plans coming and I don't need you getting in my way!!! Destroying that laptop was a cinch!!! Now I just need to destroy your journal!!! Race ya to the bottom of the stairs!!!" He let himself fall down each step.
I stared at the stares, frozen in fear before flying through the walls and reaching the kitchen.
"Human soda!!! I'm gonna drink it like a person!!!" He laughed as he covered his face with soda, then threw it away as he opened a cabinet, reaching inside. "So where do you keep that journal anyways?!?" He started to close the cabinet with his arm inside as many forks stab it. "It's gotta be around here somewhere!!! Boy these arms are durable!!!"
"I've hidden it!!! Somewhere you'll never find it in a million years!!!"
Mabel then peeked her head into the kitchen. "HeyDipperIborrowedyourjournaltouseitasapropintheshowIhopeyoudon'tmindI'mgonnagoyouprocessthissentenceokayBYEEEE!!!" And left.
Bill looked at me in success. "Sure, sounds great, sister!!! I'll see you at the show!!!"
"Wait!!! No, Mabel!!! Don't listen to him!!! That's not me!!!"
I flew out to see Mabel getting in Stan's car. Candy and Grenda were there too. I tried to stop them, but they couldn't hear me.
He laughed at me. "Welcome to the Mindscape, kid!!! Without a vessel to posses you're basically a ghost!!!"
"Oh hey, Dipper, there you are!" Soos greeted as he walked over with Wendy.
"What up, dude?"
"Soos!!! Wendy!!! Help me!!!" I tried to fly over, only to fly through then and looking behind me I'm fear as they talked to Bill.
"We're going to the theater."
"Need a ride, Dipper?"
"Oho, anything for you, Red!" He got in the car with Soos and Wendy.
I flew over, glaring at him. "I'm gonna stop you, Bill!!! I'm gonna find that journal before you do and I'm gonna stop you!!!"
"But how can you stop me..." He turned to face me with a wide smile. "if you don't exist~!" He closed the window while laughing maniacally, the car driving away and leaving me alone in this ghost form.
What have I done...?!
...
That doesn't matter now, I just had to fix it.
I flew to the theater as fast as I could, still getting the hang of this ghost thing. I managed to get there in time, seeing Bill sitting with the others as Mabel ran over to them with a smile. "Hey, guys, you all made it!!!"
"Are you kidding me? I would never miss... whatever this is!" Stan replied awkwardly.
Bill looked at her. "By the by, Mabel, were'd you out my journal again?"
"I used it as a prop for the big wedding scene! I still need a reverend thought.."
"Hey, what if I play the reverend? I mean, someone's gotta hold that journal, right?"
"Great!!! Let's go!!!"
She and Bill ran behind the curtain, and I floated after them. Once the whole first scene was done, I followed her and (y/n) into the dressing room, panicking at the thought that I was invisible to them.
Maybe I could-
"AHH!!!"
I nearly jumped out of the building when (y/n) suddenly screamed, falling back into some boxes. Mabel quickly ran over to her. "(y/n)?!? What happened?!?"
She shook her head, staring to where our floated. "Dipper?!?"
My eyes widened. "You- You can see me?!?"
"Of course I can see you!!!" She stood up, dusting herself off. "But how are you- what the hell happened to you?!?"
Mabel blinked a few times, clearly confused. "I know you miss your boyfriend, but calm down a little."
"Wha- No, Mabel, he's-!! Wait a second." She searched around some boxes, soon finding one of me and handing it to me. "Use this!"
I raised an eyebrow, put placed the puppet on my hand. Mabel's eyes suddenly widened at the sight. "Dipper?!?"
"Yes, it's me, you need to help me!!!"
"Why do you look so much more of a sock than usual...?!?"
"Oh no.." (y/n) gripped her head. "Please don't tell me you made a deal with Bill!!"
I let out an awkward chuckle, making her let out a groan of frustration. "Dipper, I've already told you, never trust Bill!! Ever!!!"
"I know, I've learned my lesson, but I really need your help!!! I need my journal back, it's the only hope to get me back in my body!!!"
"But my cue's coming up any minute!!!" Mabel yelled back in a panic.
That's when the door opened, (y/n) immediately grabbing my sock hand and hiding it behind her, forcing me to the ground as Gabe walked inside. "Hey Mabel, do you have a moment?"
"Gabe!!!" She let out an awkward chuckle, (y/n) standing in the corner as she gripped my arm.
He walked over to my sister. "Mabel, it's clear to me now that you really love puppets. I mean you went whole hog! And if you stick the ending, well, maybe later you could join me for a biscotti?"
She gasped in surprise. "You drive a biscotti?!?"
Strange wedding music began to play. "I'll be waiting." With a last smile, Gabe left the room, (y/n) letting go of me.
Mabel turned to us. "Did you hear that?!? He loves it!!! This play has to be flawless!!! Can't we wait until after the show?!?"
"MABEL, YOU WANT ME TO BE A SOCK PUPPET FOREVER?!?" I yelled, getting really angry.
She only laughed. "I'm sorry, it looks funny when you're mad."
I growled. Yes, this part was technically my fault, but if she had helped me from the start, maybe I wouldn't have been so desperate!
(y/n) quickly stood in between us. "Not the time, guys!!!"
"Okay okay okay! Just take over for me until I get back with the book!"
"I'm gonna look for Leo, we need all the help we can get!" (y/n) said before running out with Mabel, leaving me to continue the puppet show on my own.
Great.
~~~~~~~~~Mabel's POV~~~~~~~~~
I was able to climb up to where the cardboard cake where Dipper's journal, smiling at the sight and climbing inside.
As I ran across the rail and tried reaching for it, I slipped and fell in. The cake started to fall, but something grabbed the rope. As the cake was pulled up, I started looking through the journal for a way to help Dipper.
"C'mon, c'mon, there must be a way to get Dipper's body back..!!"
"Hoho, but why would you wanna do that..?!"
I grew afraid as I looked up, seeing Dipper pulling me up. "Bill Dipper!!! Bipper!!!"
"Shh, you wouldn't want to ruin the show~" He pointed at Gabe who was among the audience, and I grew silent.
I then let out a scream as he let go of the rope for a second, tightly gripping the journal. "Whoops! It's slipping~! How's about you hand that book over?"
"No way, this is Dipper's, I've never give it away!!!"
"Hmm, you didn't seem to have a problem taking it for your own play, or ditching him when he needed you. So come to your senses! Give me the book or your play is ruined!"
I stayed quiet for a few seconds, soon offering them journal. He slowly reached for it as a smirk spread across his face. "There it is~! I mean, who would sacrifice everything they've worked for just for their dumb sibling?"
"... Dipper would."
"Huh?"
I pulled him inside the cake, not letting go of the journal. We started fighting for the journal when I see (y/n) raising her arm at me. I snatched back the journal and threw at her who caught it with ease.
Bipper immediately went after her and tried to reach for the book, to which she through it over at Leo who was at the other side.
I went from behind started tickling him. We don't know what Bill's weaknesses are, or if he has any, but right now he was Dipper and I know all of him weaknesses.
We all kept throwing the book at each other, making sure he wouldn't get it. Eventually, Bipper was super tired and fell forward, getting out of Dipper's body. Soon after, he stood up, the real Dipper inside.
"Wha- Haha, yes!!!" He stood up with a smile. "I'm in my own body!!! And it's... just as underwhelming as I remembered..." (y/n) quickly grabbed his arm to help him up. "Everything hurts..."
We all tensed us as we heard Bill's evil laugh, looking over at the Dipper puppet who slowly crawled over.
"This isn't the last you'll hear from me!!! Big things are coming!!! You can't stop me!!!"
I noticed he was on top of my box with fireworks, looking down at the button on my head, letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Gabe..."
And just like that, all my puppets were exploding everywhere, the background on fire. I placed the button away, feeling Leo's hand on my shoulder as he spoke.
"Sorry about your play, M..."
"Don't worry, I've seen enough movies to know this is the part where the audience thinks it was all part of the show and loves it!!! Cue applause!!!"
They all began to boo, quickly leaving the place. Movies have lied to me!
Gabe walked over with a glare on his face as I forced on a smile. "Gabe!!! Stick around for the wrap party?!? We got mini quiches~!!!"
"Don't speak to me, Mabel, you've made a mockery of my art form! Let's go, my loves." He left while kissing the puppets on his hands.
For once, I'm actually weirded out.
Dipper raised an eyebrow, all of us staring in disgust. "Did he just make out with his puppets?"
"I might've dodged a bullet there."
"No kidding." (y/n) replied to me.
Dipper then turned to me. "Mabel, I'm sorry about out this. It's my fault your puppets got ruined..."
"Well, one of them survived, and she has something to say to you.." I took out the Mabel puppet. "I'm sorry, Dipper, I spent all week obsessing over some dumb guy, but the dumb guy I should have cared about was you..!" I gently punched his cheek. "Bap..!"
He chuckled, leaning against (y/n) for support, who smiled. "Glad you two made up."
Both of them looked behind me, their expressions falling a bit before (y/n) looked back at me. "You know, there is one guy who's still there for you."
I raised an eyebrow, looking back and seeing Leo walking away.
I did kinda ignore him throughout the week..
~~~~~~~~~Dipper's POV~~~~~~~~~
Mabel ran over to him. "Hey Leo! You wanna get some ice cream?"
"Huh? Uh- y-yeah, sure." He grew a tiny smile, both of them walking away.
"You think they'll ever get together?" I heard (y/n) asked, to which I shrugged.
"Might take a while." We both chuckled, my shoulders soon tensing up. "Ah, ow!!! What did Bill do to me?!? Ahh...!!!"
"Nothing a little sleep won't fix." (y/n) replied.
We laughed a bit as she led me out of the theater.
However, there was still a question in the back of my mind, what Bill said earlier..
...
It's been a long day, I won't ask just yet..
Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!
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