Work Text:
“I won’t make a deal with you!” Mabel had shouted up at Blendin Blandin , panic clawing itself up her throat and threatening to bubble out in a scream . The old bag was held firmly behind her, trying and failing to keep it as far as she could from Blendinー
No.
Bill!
She was backed into a corner, physically and mentally as the possessed Time Warden moved another step closer, yellow sclera shining gleefully from behind thick goggles. There was a thick pine tree at her back with the old bag trapped between them, as if it could somehow keep the demon at bay.
“You can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do!”
“Come on, Shooting Star!” Bill cried in exasperation, his multi-tonal voice sounding disjointed coming from Blendin’s body. “What has Sixer and Pine Tree even done for you? Leave you out, forget you were here, ignoring your requests to let you be involved? I could give you an eternal summer where all your wants are taken care of! No set-backs or caveats, it’d be a world for you and everything you love!”
“I love my family, Bill!” she cried back, eyes darting past Blendin’s hulking form for some kind of exit strategy. She was certain she could evade him but for how long, she wasn’t sure. He had an adult’s body and, with it, a lot more stamina than she did. She was running on a single half-eaten pancake and three cups of Mabel Juiceー her sugar high was bound to crash any moment if it hadn’t already. “Where do they fit in this world you’d make, huh? As soon as I say yes, you’re going to go back to tormenting Dipper and Ford!”
If looks could kill, the toxic yellow gaze glaring down at her would have struck her dead and gone back for a second attempt. Blendin’s body moved, a meat puppet for Bill’s grotesque manipulation, and pushed the goggles off from where it had previously obscured his gaze. It had been a single moment of pure luck, Blendin turning his head enough so that the light streamed through his normally impenetrable lenses in order to reveal his concealed maestro.
It had made Mabel snatch the snow globe back almost immediately, stowed back in her bagー it was Dipper’s, of course she couldn’t even get that right. At the very least, she’d caught sight of the remains of the unicorn hair she had fought tooth and nail for at the bottom of the bag. It had been a sacrifice she’d made for her boys, and that had been enough for her to be confident Bill couldn’t just snatch his desired prize away by force.
“I won’t make a deal, Bill,” she repeated, her volume dropping off but not being any less forceful. “I don’t know what it is but I don’t trust you. Not after you hurt my brother and grunkle.”
Bill rolled his stolen eyes at that but didn’t move any closer, his fingers flexing a few times before a thoughtful look crossed his face. “Did it occur to you,” he began, trying and failing to stop the slow cheshire grin curling across his puppet’s face. “That the globe was in Dipper’s bag. He probably knows what it is, probably got told all about it by Sixer. After all, they went on that fun little adventure together today.”
Mabel’s ears pricked up at this but she quickly schooled her expression, eyes darting towards the direction of the Shack before going back to his face. “They like going on adventures,” she argued back, beginning to feel the dredges of dread seep into her chest like disturbed silt at the bottom of the lake. “Ford understands Dipper in ways I don’t, it’s good for them to bond.”
“And what about sweet Mabel?” Bill asked, beginning to slowly circle the base of the tree. She tried to keep her eyes on him but, as he passed behind the tree, Blendin disappeared and an incorporeal visage of Bill emerged, staring down at her with pure excitement. “You’ve bonded with Stanley, sure, he gets you in ways Dipper doesn’t. But… Stanley has also bonded with Dipper too…”
“What are you getting at?” She knew exactly what he was getting at but didn’t want to admit it, wanted to keep the illusion of ignorance so tightly wound around her that it protected her from his next words.
“I’m just saying, the only one in the entire house that Sixer has purposely made sure there is no chance of a bond withー” Bill hummed, feigning indifference but unable to stop his pupil from staring beadily at her. “Is you, Shooting Star.”
She shook her head, denial immediately on the tip of her tongue as she pressed further into the bark of the tree. Her palms were already scraped, her sweater frayed at the wrists where she had taken a tumble during her earlier bolt from the dream demon. There was blood on her knees, mixed with caked mud, little rivulets of thin crimson dribbling out sluggishly to land in the soil. His eyes briefly glanced down at the sight, mesmerised, before darting up to stare her down as he hovered before her.
“He doesn’t get along with Grunkle Stan,” she muttered, knowing it was a weak defence but needing to speak it regardless.
“But they are bonded,” he crowed, seemingly pleased that she had taken the dialogue route he had been hoping for. “Two sides of the same coin, two Stans at odds with their relationshipー they’re bonded in their own pathetic tragedy despite what either may want. You are the forgotten, Shooting Star! ”
She knew he was trying to say things to get under her skin, knew it was a manipulation tactic in order to break her down and get her to sign over the mysterious globe in exchange for respite. Knew it and hated that she felt the crumpling feeling in her tummy telling her that he was right! Grunkle Ford had originally expressed great pleasure at the idea of being related to her and then, as time went on, gradually lost interest. He’d been like that with both Dipper and Mabel at the start until that game of DD&MD whereby it was like he had seen Dipper as a visage of his younger self.
He’d never gained interest in her, despite their similarities. Mabel thought she was courageous enough to be of help to her Grunkle, knew she had some differing opinions to Dipper, sure, but felt like her perspective had been as much of a boon in Dipper’s life as his had been in hers. She’d charged into the Unicorns’ den to prove herself, and had spent the last couple months putting herself in harm's way in the pursuit of her brother’s weirdness search. She thought she was doing good, had made herself at least good enough forー
No, her inner voice snapped, cutting off that line of thought. He wants you to spiral so he wins. Don’t let him, Mabel!
“Dipper gave a lot for me to be happy this Summer,” was what she settled on, fixing a hard glare onto Bill’s slowly reddening form. “I’d give the world to make him happy.”
Bill’s body glitched for a hard moment before the toxic yellow blew bright red and he grew so large he towered over both her and the tree she was huddled against. He brought his fists down with a sharp crack, the dirt undisturbed but the shockwave making Mabel’s knees buckle. She fell to the floor, her bloody knees twinging in pain before she drew the bag closer, hunching over it as if she could protect it with her very body. She knew he wasn’t physical right now but she had no clue how much damage he could potentially doー whatever this globe was, it was important enough that Bill was pulling out all the stops to get it.
Time stretched too long in silence and, when no giant fist descended on her, Mabel cautiously looked up through the curtain of her long hair, casting spooked eyes onto Bill’s form. He was back to normal size and as yellow as toxic waste, looking thoughtfully down at her as if he were truly seeing her for the first time.
“You really are a lot like me, kiddo,” he muttered, huffing a sigh before rolling his single eye. “Tell ya what, we’re in limbo here, you and me. I’m not gonna propose another deal but, I’d like you to consider a wager.”
“A… wager…?” she asked quietly, squinting up at him as she sat up properly. She drew the bag up with her, holding it like one of her precious stuffed animals.
“A wager!” he repeated, coming closer. He looked mildly offended when Mabel immediately scooched back on her butt, trying to keep as much space between them as possible. “You think that, even despite their actions showing otherwise, Dipper and Ford love you enough that they’d sacrifice for your happiness, right?” At her nod, he continued, making exaggerated hand motions as he spoke. “We’ll return the bag with the rift right now, free of charge. You ran out of there pretty upset right? Let’s give it till midnight, see if either of them come looking for you. If they do, I’m wrong and I swear to never bother you or any Pines’ as long as your lineage survives.”
She perked up at this, her heart speeding up in realisation that this could be her way of protecting her family. No more nightmares, a chance for Dipper and Ford to finally rest without having to look over their shoulders. A chance for her to finally, finally know Ford and be useful enough for him to pay her mind.
“But!” he exclaimed, holding a finger up into the air before she could get too excited. “Stan doesn’t count! That bull’s as loyal to you as a German Shepherd. He doesn’t count as a result. I’ll keep him busy across town for the night. This wager is Sixer and Pine Tree coming to look for you to see if you’re okay. ”
“Make it till dawn,” she countered, doing the maths in her head. It was already becoming dark now and Dipper and Ford had just gotten back to the labー they could get distracted for hours before needing to go to bed. She tried not to let her own thoughts make her heart twinge at the realisation that they probably wouldn’t have come looking for her until after midnight but she quickly schooled her expression. That was to be ruminated on later.
“Dawn, we can do that!” he laughed maniacally, kicking his little legs in childlike glee.
“What do you get if they don’t come looking for me?”
“Hm…”
He frowned for a moment and it was then that Mabel realised he hadn’t thought this far ahead. If she had to guess, her misery at her family not looking for her was payment enough when he had proposed this. If the bag was sent back, Ford and Dipper would have the globe within the safety of the Shack’s perimeter, meaning he couldn’t steal it back.
“I could use another Hench-maniac,” he finally settled on, tapping at his nonexistent chin. “You’re a freak like me, full of glitter and chaos and it just reminds me so much of home, I’ll have to keep you as one of my pals.”
She didn’t know what a Hench-maniac was but the cost didn’t seem high enough to stall her, her hand reaching out for a shake. Bill’s excitement was palpable and he quickly snapped his out to hers, grasping it tightly and watching the blue flames dye themselves pink. The bag in Mabel’s lap disappeared in a puff of glitter and she stared down at the spot it once occupied before turning her gaze back up to the now empty sky above.
Bill was gone.
And she was alone.
“Oh damn!” Dipper grumbled, rooting around in the bag filled with birthday fliers and the like. “Mabel and I must have accidentally swapped bags!”
“The rift!” Grunkle Ford gasped, head snapping up from where he had been synthesising the glue compound.
He threw his gloves down quickly, holstering his nearby pistol as he bolted up the stairs towards the elevator. Dipper was hot on his heels, momentarily forgetting the worry he had felt towards Mabel running off in tears as he realised the fate of the universe could come down to his poor mistake. Ford shifted impatiently in the elevator as it ascended, stepping from foot to foot and barely waiting for it to come to a complete stop before he was ripping the grate open and bolting for the front door.
Before he could get too far, however, he found the brown knapsack on the edge of the Shack’s perimeter, sitting discarded in the grass as if it had been thrown carelessly in a mad dash. Heart pounding, he snapped forward, tearing the bag open until he found the cracked globe still in one piece, the rift pulsating thickly behind the glass.
“Oh thank heavens,” he breathed, feeling the adrenaline make his body ten times heavier. His knees nearly buckled from the intense relief, clutching it tight to his chest as he turned to look back at Dipper. “It’s okay, we have it.”
“It’s so lucky it didn’t break when she dropped it,” Dipper whispered, hand pressed tight to his chest where he felt his own heart thundering away.
“We’re lucky Bill didn’t grab it the second it was left outside,” Ford corrected, beginning to feel the beginnings of irritation bubbling in his chest. He knew his niece could be irresponsible, despite the intrinsic love he felt towards her, but this was too close of a call. “When she comes back, she’s going to be getting a very stern talking to! You both are too old for tantrums that could destroy the fabric of this reality!”
Dipper baulked at that, staring out into the surrounding forest to see if he could catch a glimpse of Mabel. When he couldn’t, he returned his gaze to his great uncle who seemed to be getting more and more angry the longer he stewed.
“She was just upset about me staying in Gravity Falls without her,” he whispered, rubbing at his arm. He could feel the guilt beginning to gnaw at the bottom of his stomach, something that only happened when his subconscious was trying to tell him he was doing something bad. “Which is fair, she had to find it out through the radio and Iー”
“Dipper,” Ford sighed, taking a knee to lay his hands upon Dipper’s shoulders. “You are not responsible for your sister’s emotions. She will be fine by herself, she’ll grow and make more friends and be able to write and speak to you whenever she likes. But do not stifle your future for her desire for you to be together.” He patted him on the back, aiming for comforting but ending up more firm in its finality than he had intended. “Now we have a rift to close. It’ll take all night but we should be able to get it done. Your sister will come back shortly and, if not, we will gather Stanley when he returns from his card games to look for her. Okay?”
Dipper nodded shortly back at that, feeling slightly more reassured with Ford’s declaration. It was always audible down in the basement when someone returned home so he’d hear it clearly if Stan or Mabel returned, a perfect reminder to head upstairs. He knew he could get distracted far too easily with a task, something that Ford seemed to share with him, so he found this solution to be ideal.
“Okay, Great Uncle Ford, I trust you.”
As Mabel’s phone ticked over to 5am, she realised how little she mattered.
The night had been long and cold, a lonely existence as she waited with her back against the tree Bill had originally cornered her at. She’d spent nearly 12 hours in the same spot, not daring to move in case her family had come looking for her. It was one of the first rules she had been taught by her parents when they explained where they were going for the Summerー if you are lost, stay where you are unless you are in immediate danger.
She’d spent the whole time with her photo album, pouring over the photos and remembering all of the good times. All the moments with her new friends, with her brother, with her Grunkleー just Stan, of course. She hadn’t managed to snag any photos yet of Ford other than a quick selfie she had tried to take. He’d already been turned away when the camera shutter had gone off, catching only the back of his head, the image starkly staring back up at her from its lonely page.
“I thought…” she whispered, voice hoarse with thirst as she looked up from the pages to the slowly dissipating night sky. “...I thought…”
The wage had been stupid to take, she sees that now. Without Stan driving them, she could see how Dipper and Ford could be a poor feedback chamber, a constant reassurance of she’s fine, Mabel’s fine. Mabel wasn’t fine, however, as she let her head fall back, scalp smacking into the bark of the tree with a hollow thud. Life for her was over as far as she knew it.
“Stan’ll probably miss me,” she murmured, feeling the heaviness of her eyelids as she tried to stave off sleep. “He liked me, at least.”
She drew her head back before banging it back again, hearing an even louder thud and a dull pain beginning to form in her skull. She felt the sting of tears and she repeated the action, harder and harder to stave off the inevitable tears. She began to feel wet warmth on the back of her skull and she paused, reaching back a shaking hand to card through the sticky mess. Her fingers pulled back with dark crimson staring back up at her, as red and angry as Bill when he was pissed off.
“I wanna go home…” she croaked, suddenly feeling like there was a lump in her throat. The tears built up to the point that her vision blurred and she sniffled, trying and failing to stop the hot liquid dripping down one cheek and then the other.
She placed her photo album onto the floor, no longer caring that her precious piece of art was now becoming soiled. She dug her fingers into the earth, trying to ground herself for fear of completely losing it with the impending doom of the end of her and Bill’s wage.
Bill likes to cheat, her mind suddenly whispered, her chest constricting as her eyes darted around for a flash of yellow. He’s likely to cheat now… maybe we should also try and…?
When nothing showed up, she cast her eyes once more to the disappearing night sky. Dawn was coming soon but there was still time. With shaky fingers, she abandoned the useless pack and picked up the filthy album, holding it tight to her long-ruined sweater. She started off at a slow walk, skittish with the idea of Bill suddenly showing up, before her confidence grew until she was flat bolting between the trees. Her breath came in short, ragged pants, ears straining for any sound of pursuit.
She jumped at every sound that echoed around her, wondering if the pounding sound was her own harried feet, the blood rushing in her ears or some unseen chaser. She wondered briefly if Bill would just create the sound to spook her, give her one last very real nightmare she couldn’t escape from before taking her away where no-one would be able to find her. As far as she knew, the sound was just her own feet, a disjointed echo that wasn’t registering in her own panic.
“Shooting STAR! ”
The bellow was close, far too close for her comfort and she shrieked, the sound burning her own ear drums and bouncing off every tree she passed. The fear was palpable, it was thick in the air and trying to choke her as she puffed. She went faster than she thought physically possible.Something leaped for her and she ducked, watching as bark exploded over her shoulder as yellow burned her vision. She didn’t stop, even as the flying bark slashed at the skin of her cheeks.
When she broke the tree line and could clearly see the Shack, she sucked air in with a greedy hunger before releasing the most ear-piercing scream she could muster. Even to her own ears, the sound was full of mind-haunting terror. It would surely draw even the most dense of Pines up from the basement. The sun was just starting to peak above the horizonーshe had time but not much of it. If she was to be found, it would need to be now.
Something snagged her foot, just as she neared the edge of the Shack’s perimeter and her next scream caught in her throat. She hit the ground, chin slamming into the earth so hard that her skull rattled and her vision briefly whited out.
“You think you can cheat?! ” Bill hissed, crimson as he hovered over her. The roots from the ground had grown through the dirt at his command, coiling around her ankles and beginning to drag her back towards the forest. “Think you can play these games on my level?! ”
“Time’s not up yet!” she yelled desperately, a hysterical edge to her voice as she clawed at the dirt. She felt her nails rip and tear but didn’t care in this instant, knowing if she stopped, she was gone. “ Time’s not up yet! You didn’t say anything about me not getting them! ”
“You have seconds left, Shooting Star!” he roared, pulling his fist back and the roots dragged her screeching backwards. She held on with all of her might, refusing to stop until her final breath had come. “ They’ll be too late! ”
“They just have to look for me!” she screamed back, eyes fixed on the door of the shack, holding her breath for some sign of someone coming to look for her.
The world seemed to hold its breath in anticipation as the last of the sun peaked above the horizon. Mabel’s phone alarm started to blare to declare the end of the bet, the door of the Mystery Shack remaining firmly closed as the last of the hope died in Mabel’s chest. She barely felt the roots uncurl from her ankles, sinking back into the earth as, with a shaky breath, Mabel climbed unsteadily to her feet.
“They…” she began, suddenly realising she didn’t know what she was going to say. There was blood in her mouth from when she had fallen, her knees torn and her entire front caked in dirt and drying blood. “They didn’t… they really didn’t…”
The mocking tone of the alarm continued to sound as she stood there, unable to fully process just what had happened. She dropped her phone onto the ground, raising a trembling hand to touch her deathly cold cheek.
“Well…” Bill said quietly, equally as stunned as he looked between Mabel’s sorry state and the Shack. He had been so sure when she had started hollering that he had been beatー the Pines girl was so chaotically crazy that she truly was a visage for sore eyes. “...That’s that, then.”
She’d lost.
The sound of screaming is what eventually drew Dipper and Ford from their stupor in the basement. It had taken the entirety of the night and early morning but it was finally done. The rift was finally sealed for good and their dimension was safe from the likes of Bill.
“Probably just some Screaming Willows,” Ford had grumbled, rubbing tiredly at his darkened under eyes. “They have no respect for early mornings. I thought I’d cut down all of them when I was last in this Dimension but apparently not.”
“It sounds like someone is dying,” Dipper whispered, a little terrified but reassured by his Great Uncle’s words. “If she isn’t already awake, it’ll definitely have woken…”
Ford seemed to realise what Dipper was about to say as he finished pouring his coffee, body freezing for a terrible moment as he cast his gaze at his Great Nephew. He suddenly remembered the events of last night, of hearing that Mabel had left the Shack in a huff and they were to look for her if she hadn’t returned by the time Stan came back.
Had Stan come home?
“Check the attic,” Ford ordered, already ducking over to Stanley’s door. When he peered in, he could see no brother-sized mound beneath the blankets and he cursed, realised with building horror that he hadn’t noticed anyone returning last night.
“She’s not there! ” Dipper yelped as he took the stairs two at a time, missing the last one and staggering the rest of the way. Ford was quick to catch him, a hand holding him by the forearm to stop him from taking a horrible head dive into the hardwood. “Great uncle Ford, I didn’t hear her come home last night!”
The screaming outside had stopped and a terrifying moment of silence came. They both waited with bated breath, anticipation hanging heavily in the air before the quiet chimes of a familiar alarm began to sound from out front. Dipper cast frantic eyes up at Ford who was rapidly paling, slowly and achingly moving his way to the front door with his gun drawn.
The door swung open with a loud creak, filling the quiet with its haunting melody. The sun had just begun to warm the grass around the Shack, what looked to be a beautiful day shining down on the figure at the edge of the treeline. It looked just like his Great Niece except it felt wrongー her sweater was torn and caked in mud, her knees and palms lacerated and a thick trail of blood pouring from her lower lip. She was beyond pale, a noticeable tremor running through her whole body as she stared back at Ford with eyes screaming betrayal.
“...Mabel?” Dipper called hesitantly, seeing his sister but seeming to struggle with what exactly he was properly seeing.
“You… didn’t look for me,” was all she said, bloodied lip trembling along with the rest of her, as if her bones were trying to rattle apart. Ford felt himself rear back at the utter misery in his niece’s voice, his heart breaking at seeing her so hurt and wounded.
“I… what?” Dipper stuttered, suddenly feeling like the air was stolen from his lungs. The guilt was threatening to drown him as another wave hit, utter terror sinking deep into his bones like a cold he couldn’t shake.
“I lost…” she whispered as tears filled her eyes, dribbling down in sluggish streaks. It cut through the mud and blood, leaving visible tracks behind as she sucked in a shuddering, sobbing breath. “Now I’m… going to be lost… for a while.”
“Sweetieー” Ford began, descending down the Shack’s steps and trying not to flinch as she took several steps back. It was then that he started to notice the upturned dirt, strange streaks across what used to be undisturbed grass and very noticeable signs of someone having been dragged. “What the hell happened?”
“I lost a bet,” she whispered, the words hanging heavy in the air between the three Pines.
Dipper and Ford were having a hard time understanding, something which upset Dipper and made Ford’s short patience begin to slip. “Mabel, spit it out,” he rumbled, taking another step only to watch her continue to retreat. He was scared for his nieceー she was clearly hurt after having disappeared last night and she wasn’t doing anything to help assuage those fears. “Stop being crypticー I’m already upset with you for having run off last night with a very dangerous artefact but now you…” He took a moment to collect his thoughts, a million things crossing his sharp mind as he tried to pick the right words. He wasn’t good at this kind of stuff, it had always been Stanley who had been able to choose his words enough to protect others’ feelings. “You’ve come home after spending all night in the forest post your tantrum, having been screaming bloody murder and also lookー”
He eyed the blood again, swallowing heavily as he heard the sharpness in his own voice. She was injured and, instead of offering her comfort, he was immediately jumping down her throat. Good job, Stanford, way to be Uncle of the year.
“ What happened? ” he settled on instead, biting back the rest of his annoyance. It could come later when she was washed and dressed, her wounds treated and the blood eradicated so that she could sit through the caring lecture he was already plotting for her.
“...He bet that you didn’t care…” Mabel muttered, beginning to pull off her destroyed sweater. He tried not to wince, seeing the scrapes that decorated the inside of her forearms and the thick layers of grime beneath her fingernails. She dropped her photo album to the floor as well, biting back his panic at seeing such a precious item be discarded so readily. His heart twinged in its chest at the defeat on her face and it took a few seconds before he truly registered her words.
“Who said that?” he snapped, anger bubbling up in ugly waves. She shrunk back from it and he couldn’t understand why, surely she knew it wasn’t directed at her?
“B-Bill…” she whispered, scrubbing at her face as she left the sweater drop to the floor.
The gun was in Ford’s hands before she could blink, held aloft and pointed over her shoulder in preparation to eviscerate the yellow triangle. Mabel’s eyes met his and she seemed to shrink even further, shoulders hunching up towards her ears.
“Where?”
“He was here a… moment ago,” she murmured, shrugging her shoulders. “He’ll be back… I have a bet to pay up…”
“You bet with the creature that has been haunting your brother and I?!” Ford shouted in outrage, fist tightening around the gun’s handle.
Mabel didn’t shrink back at the anger this time, a sense of resignation seeming to settle over her as she finally met his eyes. He felt himself stumble back at the utter defeat written across her face, a deep, rattling sigh reaching his ears and making him feel like crying. Had he… caused this feeling in his niece?
“He knew,” she said finally, the stutter falling away from her words. “That if I was gone, if you thought I could be in danger, if I was scared and distressedー you would not come. Neither of you. Not since you found each other.”
Ford felt his indignation rise up at this but another part of him, a part deep inside that sounded horrifically like Bill’s manic cackles, whispered that yes, he knew she was in danger out in the woods. Yet still, he didn’t come, not once the rift was returned to the Shack and he was able to get on with his work with his beloved nephew. That didn’t mean anything thoughー they had to make sure Bill couldn’t open the rift between the worlds, it was meant to keep both of his precious niblings safe!
But is Mabel precious?
The thought came unbidden, a cold trickle running down his spine at the words. Mabel was so much like Stan was at that age and it was a painful reminder, a being that he wished to avoid as long as he possibly could. It had made him push her away the longer he truly knew her, the more he catalogued their similarities. No, she was very precious to him, he just didn’t wish to show her the affection he could tell she was wishing for.
“Mabel, what did you guys wager?” Dipper asked, trying not to bolt towards his sister. He could see the skittishness in every line of tension running through her body, knew if he tried coming closer or getting between her and Ford, either of them would do something that could not be undone. Ford seemed to snap out of his funk at his question, eyes sharpening as he realised the potential danger the Pines could potentially be in.
“I…”
“Mabelー” Ford started and Dipper so wished he would stop, wished he would not dare speak the next words that were about to leave his lips. “ーWhat stupid thing have you done?”
“I bet you would look for me,” she declared, looking down at her lacerated hands. “If you did, Bill said he’d never bother any of our family so long as our lineage lives.”
Ford felt his breath catch, grip loosening on the gun at the idea of truly being free from the demon. There had to have been a ‘but’, there was no way Bill would willingly agree to this.
“I had the rift with me, refused to give it to him,” she continued, unaware of the turmoil in her brother and uncle. “Bill said if I didn’t have the rift, if we put it back near the Shack, you would choose to leave me out there. So we… put it back for you and… you didn’t come.” She sucked in a deep breath, turning her head as if something had just caught her attention.
“I knew you weren’t going to look for her,” Bill snickered, his flash of incorporeal yellow appearing just behind her head. Ford’s attention was immediately on the demon, gun raising again. “But honestly? I thought she had me beat! Little thing has some spunk and courage! Ran through here hollering something fierce, hoping to draw you all out to look for her in case she was hurtー even I was shocked when you didn’t! ”
“If you didn’t search for me by sunrise…” Mabel whispered, raising a filthy hand. Bill reached for it, taking it between his own as he patted at her knuckles with faux concern. “...I was to be one of his Hench-maniacs… Forever.”
“ Pardon?! ” Ford choked, cocking his gun before shooting three times towards Bill. The plasma rays fired harmless through his body but he froze when he saw the slowly reddening skin across his niece’s cheek from the proximity to it. “Sweetie, I… Shit, I’m sorryー”
“Man, you got some trust issues,” Bill snickered, clicking his fingers as blue flames encircled the grass beneath Mabel.
“ Mabel! ” Ford yelled, going to bolt towards her, fear immediately surging through him. Roots burst from the ground and barred his way, Dipper struggling and failing to find some hole to slip through their defences. “Get away from her, Bill! It isn’t her you want, it’s me!”
“No,” came his chilling response. Even from here, he could tell his eye was curved into a gleeful smile. “I want her. She’s much more like me than you ever were.”
As he watched his niece make eye contact with him one last time, he realised there was no more affection in her gaze for him. She was tired, upset, and seemed just exhausted in such a way that she couldn’t even muster up the strength to hate him. As the flames consumed them, burning at their forms until all that was left was a burnt patch of grass and a missing niece, Ford felt as if a piece of his heart was lost to him forever.
“Good bye… Ford…”