13Another one of my short little one-shots. I dunno why I always make them angsty and sad... Oh well, I'm sorta dark, what can I say?
Oh shoot! Why? And this summer especially! They had just turned 18, and Mystery Hunts were still rather common, but due to Dipper being sick, she went by herself to see if she could find something to make him feel better. But she wasn't able to. And by She, I mean Mabel. Here she was, running madly through the forest, doing her best to dodge trees and squeaking when she could hear the faint laughter of her pursuer.
Finally, she burst through the door of the Mystery Shack, slamming it shut behind her, earning quite a funny look from her twin. She quickly locked it and frowned as something fell on her head. It was barely able to be felt, but it kind of flattened her hair. Quickly grabbing it, because she knew the pursuer would be there any moment, she saw it was a sticky-note signed by her Grunkle, simply stating he'd be on a business trip for the rest of the week. It was a Monday, so it'd be quite a few days. Still panting, she huffed and threw it aside, rushing to her brother and starting to panic.
"Mabel, what happened? I told you not to go alone!" His croaky voice scolded, still eyeing her for damage.
She was too busy thinking to worry about what her brother had to say. Since he was sick, she didn't have time to run him out of here! She'd simply have to hide him, quick! Thinking fast, she pulled her brother's arm, and his face contorted into pain as he was being forced to move. Geez, he couldn't even protest or ask why! She was just moving him! But seeing her in such a state of panic, he decided not to question as she put his ice-pack in his hand and the thick cover he had rested over him on his shoulders, and rushed him up the stairs, settling him down in his bed and throwing the covers over him, watching as Waddles jumped up beside him and tilted his head to the side, asking the same thing her brother wanted to ask.
"Mabel, why are you-"
"Shh! It'll be alright, Dipping-sauce! I was just-uh- trying to use the living room for my boyfriend to come over! Yes! That's it, so I move you up here! So, just please stay in your room as to um- not bother us!"
She laughed sheepishly as his look told her he was not falling for her. She was in a state of panic, normally her date-nights she would be quite jumpy, but not be so pale and in panic, not to mention looking like she ran for miles!
Sighing she gave up, but replied,
"Just don't worry. I know what to do about it, okay? Don't come out because you're sick! I'll be back soon! Love ya, Dips!"
And then, she ran out the attic door, slamming it shut, but quickly banging on it in such a way it couldn't be opened from the outside, but Dipper could open it in a broken-fashion if he needed to. Either way, the attic door was now permanently broke.
Quickly, she sprinted down the stairs, and when she faced to door, she made it just in time to see it burn away in cyan flames, and said pursuer stepped-ahem-floated inside, his human form wearing an inhuman cheshire smile.
"How rude of you to run away before I even got into a position to chase after you! You also left this, Shooting Star," The demon said, holding up Journal 3 with a smirk, pleasantly enjoying her terrified expression.
"Can I have it back?" She squeaked, already knowing the obvious answer. He was a demon, geez!
"Well, since you were rude- Nope! It's mine now! I could hear every thought you had racing through your mind as you were running," he informed, making the book disappear with a snap of his fingers, his cat-like eyes fixated intently on her, daring her to try and make another run for it.
"Why am I back?' Can I not be, Gravity Falls certainly doesn't belong to you. And it's been 6 years, don't I deserve a little visit?"
"You've had your visit, now leave!" Mabel quickly snapped, immediately going pale after saying so.
"Still hostile, aren't we? Don't worry, Pine Tree is not my current target."
Mabel swallowed, finding that it hurt to do so since she had ran so far without stopping and at the same pace, and not having water to drink to clear the dryness. She knew what he meant by that, and his eyes glinted, still warning her.
Then, she heard a footstep from behind the demon, and in one second, he was behind her, having quite a hold on her, too. And also very painful. She gasped as her hair was yanked back, her head also tilting back, exposing some of her neck from her collar of her sweater. What was worse was a long blade pressed against it, and Bill didn't have to freeze her, she was already immobilized with fear. She had nowhere else to look but up at him, watching as his eyes quickly glanced to her's, but then forward, as they hardened, and a scowl replaced his cheshire smile.
"Claw, isn't this just a familiar situation! Doesn't it ring quite the bell in your head? And why are you back so early, weren't you going on a business trip?"
Stan dropped the keys he was holding, and his hands balled into fists, as he forced the terrible, terrible memory away for now, glaring daggers at the demon who had a blade on his niece.
"I forgot my wallet," Stan said through gritted teeth, taking a step forward before Mabel gave a squeak as the blade being further pressed on her.
"Now not so fast! We wouldn't want precious Shooting Star to become a corpse, now do we?"
Stan started to tremble with anger as he couldn't take another step. Well, the business trip was out of the question now!
A sinister grin crossed the demon's face, as he said;
"That's right! It's not like it'll improve anything, I mean, you couldn't even save your dear brother, how do you suppose you'll save dear Shooting Star, too?"
Mabel closed her eyes as the demon started cackling. She didn't want to hear anymore. She had expected (and asked him on occasion if he did have a brother, and after persisting, he only told her all about it, but left out the part about Bill) Stan to have a brother, but never knew he died by Bill's hands. Now, she was sure that this would be there moment where she died.
Stan didn't reply. His expression went blank for a second, before snarling and lunging at him, but the demon transported behind him, his eyes gazing to Mabel as she gave a small scream as blood trickled down her neck, and stopped as she fainted, becoming limp in his hold. The demon let go of her hair, and let the blade drop to the ground, picking the sleeping girl up in his arms and smirking at Stan who had gone pale.
"Relax, Claw, she's not dead. She simply fainted from fear. If you hadn't lunged, there wouldn't be a thin line of blood on her neck, now would there?"
His smirk seemed to grow wider as Stan's horrified expression didn't change, and no matter how many times his mouth seemed to move, no words were uttered.
"Oh, now don't be reassured! She'll be meeting a fate worse than death, that's for sure! I'll just leave you to-"
"Don't." Stan whispered, for the first time in years, tears started to silently fall, as he continued to stare at the demon, thoroughly horrified. He'd do anything to stop this! His brother, not his niece, too!
"Hmm? What was that?"
"Please, Cipher, don't take my niece! You killed my brother, you killed Stanley! How could you be so terrible as to keep my niece in that hellish dreamscape of yours?! Why kidnap her? Normally, you would've killed her by now, wouldn't you! Give her back and go away!"
The demon wasn't surprised at all, if anything he didn't like such emotions coming from the old man. He hadn't seen such in years!
"I'm a demon, it's all in the definition! I also will not justify my reasons to you! But have fun explaining this all to Pine Tree! I'm sure he'll be happy to know that his sister's in the "safe" hands of a demon! But I guess since you're displaying such emotions like a child, here, take a souvenir!"
Stan watched in absolute horror at the merciless demon who kicked the knife with blood on the edge towards him, eyeing it before looking back at the demon, feeling absolutely broken. He really wasn't one for mercy was he? Even if he offered a deal, the demon would refuse. It'd end up as last time, "A deal's not worth it! I'll always get what I want!"
"The same blade that Glasses died on, isn't that just neat? It'll also contain the last thing you'll ever have from Shooting Star!"
His cheshire smile widened impossibly further as Stan crumpled to the ground, pleading to everything holy that the demon wouldn't get away with this.
"I think this wraps it up, don't you? Boy, I spent more time than I was supposed to! Have fun, because I know I sure will! Goodbye, Claw! Try and be honest about me to your relatives this time! Remember; Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye~!"
And with that, Stan heard his laugh echoed for what seemed like forever as they disappeared, and Stan flinched as he heard something plastic drop to the ground, and rolled towards his crumpled figure on the ground, and he hesitantly picked it up, reading the note attached to it by a string of yarn.
Happy Birthday, Grunkle Stan! Thanks for always letting us stay with you! I love you unbelievable amounts of kittens! Wait, that was on another card! Sorry! Let me rephrase! I love you in unaccountable amounts! Wait, that one didn't make sense! Sorry, it's hard to right something sweet out! Grr! Point is, I love you! Mabel, you know, your niece! :D
He looked at the paper in the bottle, and slowly took it out, finding a picture collage of times since they were twelve, a picture of all of them fishing together… An expert re-draw of that scary zombie apocalypse night of karaoke…
He couldn't look through the rest of it, because he ended up crying. Really hard, for that matter. He had only cried so much one time, and that was a long long time ago. He hugged the note closer. It seems that he had lost to that stupid demon, once again. He didn't care about the books anymore, in fact, if it weren't for them, his niece would still be here. It all happened too fast. He should've known something was up, after the countless times and should've tried to tell them to go home.
"But we defeated Bill!"
"Bill failed me! So I switched to plan B, dynamite!"
And only he knew that Dipper's pain was not ordinary. The Sock Opera night? He didn't say anything when he should've. But he knew he couldn't hurt him in his nephew's body. So he left it alone, but he shouldn't have.
The only thing that happened was a sick Dipper standing in front of him, his eyes wide at seeing his Grunkle's pale face, and the knife with blood on it before him, but no Mabel. Stan had been crying, it was pretty obvious. Only hoping that nothing bad happened to his sister, he asked with a slightly healed voice;
"Where's Mabel?"