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“What do you mean you won't make it to the Christmas dinner!?”
“Sorry Mabes, I’ve just got a lot on my plate this year at the office.”
Mabel bites the inside of her cheek, finger tapping some odd rhythm unknown to any onlookers as she listens to her twin ramble about his deadline.
“Dipper, you’ve never missed a single one of our family Christmas dinners before. Hell, even Grunkle Ford’snever missed one since we started having them!”
“Trust me, I wish I could, but my boss has rejected everything I’ve sent his way for the month, and I’ve gotta have something for him by the twenty first-”
“Dipper, don’t you have any ‘days off’ saved up or something,” Mabel asks with a frustrated groan.
“Of course I do, but-”
“Then use them!”
“I would use them, but I-”
“Then I guess we’ll just have to set one less plate at the table this year…”
“Come on, Mabes, you know I didn’t mean it like th-”
Dipper’s sentence is cut off by the dial tone before he can even finish. Well, that conversation didn’t go as well as he expected. “Just great.” Dipper takes a deep breath, holding it for a
moment before letting it out as a deep sigh. Picking up the phone, he decides to try calling Mabel back…
"Heya, you've reached Mabel! Sorry I missed your call, but if you're a cute guy, please, feel free to leave your number after the pig squeal. If this is Dip, or Grunkle Stan/Ford, I'll call you guys back when I get home from the mall, cause that's probably where I am. ‘Kay, thanks, bye!"
“SQUEEAALLLLL!!”
Beep.
“Well, can't say I wasn’t expecting that,” Dipper drones to himself. He sets his phone back on the nightstand, lacing his fingers together and resting his forehead against them. Of all the times for his boss to be a pain in the ass, it just had to be weeks before Christmas. He would just have to keep trying. Picking up his camera and pocket notebook, Dipper pulled on his hat and coat before heading out in search of a story.
△
Mabel paces the living room floor, phone in hand with her eyes locked on the bright reds and greens of her overly festive cotton socks. “I can’t believe him. How could he put work before family! He’s never missed a dinner before, why should now be any different!”
“I’m sure there is a reason why he cannot make it to the dinner this year, Mabel.”
“Yeah, Mabel, I mean, who in their right mind would miss out on your Christmas stuffing on purpose!? IT’S SO GOOD!”
Mabel whines into the earpiece of her cell, dropping onto her bed in the usual dramatic manner. “Yeah, well the way things are looking he’s not gonna get to taste any.” Mabel loves her brother, but hell, he’s such a workaholic. She knows how bad he gets when it comes to something he’s passionate about; she gets that, but she just wishes for once he wouldn't put his work on such an impossibly high pedestal.
“Mabel, maybe you should try talking to Dipper one more time,” Candy suggests through their three way call. “I am sure you all can work something out.”
“Yeah, I mean, you still have a week before your uncles show up, so maybe something will change?”
Mabel smiles at their words, honestly glad to say that she can count on Candy and Grenda whenever the chips are down.
“Yeah, you guys are right. I can't afford to let something like this keep me down. I’ll talk to you girls on Skype later, I gotta go make a phone call!”
“GO MABEL, GO!”
“Good luck, Mabel!”
Giving a quick farewell, Mabel ends the call to pull up her twin’s number, barely managing to stifle a yawn. She hasn’t been able to sleep well for the past few days since the call with Dipper, and it’s beginning to take its tole. She finds the number under her favorites, hesitating for a second before tapping the number and placing the phone to her ear, gaze straight ahead.
She hears one ring before a quiet gasp escapes her.
Mabel nearly drops her phone as the pale pink hues of her walls slowly bleed out into a dull grey scale. She remembers Dipper’s warnings of what this means, shaking her head in disbelief. She’s never actually seen this in person before now, but her brother had, and on multiple occasions during that summer back when they were twelve- back when she had staged an elaborate sock opera to impress some weirdo who had a weird thing for sock puppets (he was cute, but the sock puppet obsession was too much too handle).
Mabel takes a step backward when she hears that familiar, grating laugh echo through the room. Her hands ball into fists at her side as she stares at the single eye that appears out of thin air.
“Bill.”
As soon as the words leave her mouth, there’s a flash of azure fire that has Mabel shielding her eyes before uncovering them to see a dark skinned, two toned blonde standing before her. He was dressed in a pair of black slacks held up by suspenders over a crisp, white button down collar shirt. Around the collar he dawns a small black bow tie, right eye closed with a triangular scar over it, and the left an unnaturally bright and glowing golden amber, pins her where she stands.
“In the flesh, Shooting Star!”
Mabel stands, flabbergasted by his appearance. Despite his more… humane appearance, she knows; it can't possibly be anyone else, for Christ’s sake.
“Oh man, it’s really been a while, hasn’t it, Star? You’re all grown up-”
“Grunkle Ford erased you with the memory gun- how are you even still alive!?”
Bill blinks, seemingly startled by her outburst before his lips split in a grin. “You obviously didn’t pay much attention in your science classes did you, kid?”
A cane appears from nowhere, and the demon in human skin catches it easily, twirling it between his fingers like a baton before tapping the handle to his chest. “You do remember what exactly I am, yes?”
“How could I ever forget- you’re a one eyed demonic isosceles monster that nearly ruined our lives and took over Gravity Falls.”
The demon places a hand to his chest, cheeks appearing to flush at Mabel’s words. “Oh, Shooting Star! You flatter me, so,” Bill purrs before leaning against the cane in his hand. “But that’s not quite the answer I’m looking for.”
Mabel cocks a brow in confusion, silently urging the black-blonde to continue his spiel. “Come on, really? Bill Cipher. Dream demon. Master of the mind. Being of pure energy with no weaknesses?”
Mabel deadpans, unimpressed at Bill’s urging, and the dream demon literally sighs in frustration before placing a hand on his forehead. “What’s the rule on energy? Think physics.”
The brunette pauses for a moment, thinking back to her high school science classes. It never was her favorite subject (especially Physics, ugh!), but she wasn’t stupid. Bill remained silent- surprisingly- as she thought, until it clicked.
The Law of Conservation of Energy.
Bill saw the flash of realization in her eyes, and grinned.
“Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but is transferred from one form to another.”
“Yep. So, by that logic, if I’m pure energy, your dear old grunkles,” the demon emphasizes his words with a growl, his visible eye flashing red for a moment before returning to their original bright amber, “never destroyed me, kid. They physically can’t. My being was scattered throughout the mindscape, so all i had to do was literally pull myself together, and here I am!”
Mabel grimaces as Bill spreads his arms out wide, gesturing to himself. “I can tell you’re curious as to why I look like this, but that’s my little secret, kid.”
“Okay, that doesn’t explain why you’re here and pestering me.”
Bill’s grin only widens further as he struts toward her, resuming his cane twirling as he goes. Of course she instinctively steps back as he approaches, but between the demon and her bed, there isn’t much room for her to go anywhere.
“Well, I saw you were having a bit of a dilemma, and I figured I come to lend a helping ha-”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. You honestly think after all the grief you’ve given us that I’d actually make a deal with you?! You’re out of your mind!”
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Shooting Star,” Bill croons with a small laugh. Mabel crosses her arms, not at all impressed. She turns her back on the demon
“Laugh all you want, Bill, I’m not taking anything you’re offering. Now shoo, leave me be so I can get to trying to banish you again or…something.”
“Not even if it was making sure Pine Tree can make it to your little family gathering you do every year?”
Mabel goes silent when Bill mentions her brother, turning to glance at the demon over her shoulder.
“Yeah, I’ve been keeping an eye on you two, which is par for the course, to be honest. But I see you two had quite the little spat a few days ago, and it’s been messing with your sleep, Star.”
With a flick of his wrist, Bill conjures up an image of Dipper sitting at his computer. His hair is a mess, and he has slight bags under his eyes as he reaches for the camera beside him, appearing to cycle through a series of photos. With a sigh, he sets the camera back down, cradling his face in his hands.
“Oh my god, Dipper…”
“You aren’t the only one taking this hard, Shooting Star. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t told you, but if he doesn’t get an article approved by the deadline, he’s gonna get sacked.”
Mabel’s eyes widen in surprise. Dipper hadn’t told her that- then again, she hadn’t given him a chance, since she had hung up in his face; she hadn’t even bothered to pick up when he called her back. Knowing her brother, he would end up working himself to exhaustion trying to meet his deadline just so he could make the trip down to California.
“Now, now, don’t get your emotional knickers in a twist, kid. See, I can take care of your brother’s little problem, in exchange for a little something of yours-”
“Nuh-uh. No way. You're not getting anything from me, Bill!”
“Woah, woah, hold on a second, Star! Just- hear me out, ‘kay?”
Mabel narrows her eyes, but decides to hear him out. She can always boot his ass out of her mindscape afterward.
“What I want in exchange for helping you with your problem here is just the tiniest bit of your soul. ”
“Absolutely not.”
“Come on, Shooting Star! It’s LITERALLY the smallest bit if your soul! I won’t even be able to do anything with it, aside from use the energy to sustain myself in the mindscape! It’s fucking boring being here all the time! I’ll only use it to give myself some form of entertainment! Don't make me beg, cause I'll beg.”
“You honestly expect me to believe that? After everything you've put my family and friends through? Sorry, but I don’t think so.”
“I guess you're perfectly content with your brother sacrificing even more for you then, huh?”
Mabel freezes.
“And here I thought you’d be willing to trade just a teeny bit of your soul to help your brother out. Obviously that’s a bit too much to ask of you, despite everything your brother’s done for you. But what do I know.”
As much as she detests Bill, Mabel can’t say he’s wrong. Dipper has sacrificed so much for her, back then and even now, without so much as even asking for anything in return.
“Look, I’ll even make you a sweet bargain: you give me that itty bitty piece of your soul, and I ensure that you two won’t ever have to worry about the other missing out on your little festivities ever again for the span of your natural existences. It’s honestly not that hard.
If giving Bill the smallest portion of her soul would help Dipper, maybe she should. But this was Bill. The dream demon that tricked her brother into possessing his body, tried to steal and destroy the journals, turned nearly everyone in Gravity Falls into statues for a throne, and nearly destroyed reality with Weirdmageddon. But what if he was telling the truth? It wasn’t like he could control her or anything with a minuscule piece of her soul, could he?
“Well, I guess you’re content to keep having your brother sacrifice his own happiness for you then, Star,” the demon says with sarcastic glee as he turns away from Mabel with a flourish. I’ll just be on my way, then. You have a nice Christmas alone with the old geezers.”
“Wait!”
Bill pauses mid step, glancing at Mabel with half lidded eyes over his shoulder. “Yes?”
The brunette fiddles with a piece of her hair, eyes locked on her once vibrant socks. “Just a tiny piece of my soul, right…? You can’t do anything with it except gain energy?” Bill turns back to face her and tips his head in an affirmative. The demon raises a hand engulfed in blue fire toward her, and she hesitates to grasp it, mulling over the terms repeatedly in her head. There seems to be no downsides on her end, and Bill still gains, even if it’s not something outright underhanded from gaining a small bit of energy. Mabel steels herself, having made up her mind, and raises her hand to clasp the demon’s own with a firm shake.
The moment their hands touch, Mabel feels a zing from the point of contact shoot straight to her chest, almost like a static shock, before the sensation shoots back down her arm and toward their still connected hands. Mabel glances at Bill to see his eye closed, almost visibly shuddering as he hums in delight. WHen his eye opens, it glows brighter than it had been initially, his slit pupil looking much more vibrant than before.
Bill slowly releases her hand, and the grin he shoots her has her immediately regretting her decision to trust him. “Well, I’d better get to work. I’ve got a deal to complete.” The demon snaps his fingers, and his hat which had been absent for the duration of their encounter appears in his hand. He places it on his head before tipping it Mabel’s way. “Oh, and Shooting Star? This is our little secret, m’kay?”
With a wink of hisgood eye, he turns away from the young woman, and with a flourish and another flash of blue, Bill Cipher is gone, and Mabel finds herself sitting bolt upright off the floor. When had she fallen asleep? She reaches up to scratch her sore forehead, when she catches a glimpse of something on her hand.
You might wanna pick up your phone, kid. Pine Tree’s calling!
With a startled yelp, she notices that her phone is ringing, and Dipper is calling her. She quickly picks the phone up off the floor and swipes the screen to answer. “H-hello?”
“Mabel? Is everything okay?! You called but didn’t answer when I picked up-”
“Yeah, yeah! Everything's fine, Dippin’ Dots! I just… forgot I dialed you, is all, heh. You know how I get distracted sometimes!”
Dipper sighs in relief, glad to hear that Mabel isokay. “So what’s up?”
“Ah, well uh,” Mabel fumbles for her thoughts, snapping when she remembers why she called Dipper in the first place. “Yeah, I was just calling to apologize… I-I shouldn't have hung up on you the way I did… Or ignored your phone call.”
Dipper blinks, clearly not having expected that to be the reason his sister was calling. A small smile finds its way to his lips, relief washing over him now that Mabel is no longer upset with him.
“It’s okay, Mabes… You had every reason to be mad at me, so I understand.”
“No, it was an asshole move on my part, and I’m sorry for it.”
“No worries. Hey, I- maybe I can finish that article in time to make it down to Cali. I think I might have something my boss will like this time.”
“Really?! That’s awesome, bro-bro!”
“Yeah, I just gotta type up the article and turn in the photos I got and hope for the best.”
Mabel bites her lip, but refrains from saying anything for a moment. “I’m sure you’ll get it this time, Dip. Hey, I gotta go, but I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Yeah, thanks. Don’t stay up too late, okay?”
“Hey, that's my line, ‘Mr. I-like-to-stay-up-all-night’!”
Both siblings share a laugh before exchanging their final goodnight's and hanging up the phone. Mabel sighs, running her fingers through her hair nervously. Normally something like this wouldn't get to her so badly, but she hopes that her deal with Bill was the right decision.
△
Two weeks.
It’s been two weeks since Dipper’s last conversation with Mabel, and he still doesn’t have a proper article ready for his deadline. He sighs, rubbing at his temples to alleviate the migraine he feels trying to creep on him. There's honestly no way he can make it to California to see his sister at this point with Christmas a few days away, and he feels even worse for giving Mabel (as well as himself) false hope that he would still be able to make it. Before he can stew in his own depressing thoughts any farther, he hears a rapid, incessant knocking at his front door.
“Just a sec!” Setting his pencil down with a sigh, Dipper stands from his desk and pops his back. He makes a quick stop in the bathroom to splash some water on his face, attempting to make himself at least somewhat presentable, before heading to the door. Dipper peeks through the peephole but sees no one, so he turns ready to get back to his work when the knocking begins again.
With a slightly frustrated groan, he turns back to the door and pulls it open, mouth open to chew out whoever is messing with him. Before he can even get a word out, he finds himself on the ground with an armful of Mabel.
“Gotcha, bro-bro!”
Dipper blinks, eyes wide with confusion as his sister sits up, laughing loudly at his surprise. His thoughts haven't even caught up to the fact that mabel is here, in his home before Stan and Ford are stepping into the doorway behind the twins.
“Ha, you should have seen your face, kid!” Stan steps inside, laughing himself, as he helps his great niece and nephew up off the floor, and Ford, as reserved as ever, can barely keep the smile tugging at the corners of his lips off his face.
“Mabel? Grunkle Stan? Grunkle Ford? Wha- what are you guys doing here?”
“We’re here to celebrate Christmas with you, of course!”
Stan claps Dipper on the back, causing him to stumble slightly before chiming in. “Yeah, she told us what was up, so we transferred our flight over to Oregon instead of Cali.”
Ford steps up to Dipper as well, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Your sister was determined to have you with us for Christmas, even if it meant intruding on your personal dwelling.”
“Hey, we aren’t intruding! We’re family, grunkle Ford! And this was a holiday emergency, so even if it was, we get a pardon!”
Dipper can’t help but laugh, his chest swelling with joy at the thought that he will in fact be able to spend Christmas with his family this year. It almost brings tears to his eyes, and- oh wait, those are actual tears he feels slipping down his cheeks.
“Whoa whoa, what’s with the waterworks? I didn’t smack ya that hard, did I?” Dipper notices that Stan’s voice has a nervous edge to it- it's barely there, unless you actually pay attention, but he catches it, and he can't stop the honest to God genuine laugh that bubbles up from his throat. His grunkle never was good with tears, but the man always did care for his family and their well being, and Dipper is yet again reminded why he loves his family so.
“Hah, no, I’m fine, grunkle Stan. it’s just- I’m glad you guys are here, is all…” Dipper wipes his eyes with a smile, pulling his family into a group hug (which is rare for him, as Mabel is usually the one who always initiates group hugs) that vaguely surprises them all (except Mabel), but they accept it nonetheless.
“Bro, there’s no way we were gonna let you miss a Christmas with us- not now, or ever.”
Mabel shoots Dipper a grin, and he can't help but return the gesture. After the rough past few weeks he’s had, he can finally say that he’s looking forward to Christmas.
△
The next few days after Mabel, Stan, and Ford’s arrival are filled with shopping for dinner ingredients, last minute gifts, and Mabel running around Dipper’s kitchen, forbidding all entry except for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Stan, of course, ignores her rules, entering the kitchen every morning to make Stancakes for breakfast, and occasionally throughout the day to continue his assault on the Pitt Cola 6-packs in Dipper’s fridge.
It’s a good thing he stocked up on them before he came (Pitt Cola and coffee were his two drinks of choice), as Mabel had banned Stan from all beer until after their Christmas dinner, so ignoring her ‘do not enter the kitchen’ rules was his revenge for the pre-Christmas ban on all beer.
Ford managed to keep himself occupied when they weren’t scrambling through stores for last minute groceries by continuing his experiments in the far back storage room of Dipper’s home. Though there wasn’t really much in there, aside from a few of his spare cameras and such, so long as he avoided damaging any of them, Dipper was perfectly content with him using the room.
Dipper himself continues to work on his article, but is occasionally pulled away by Mabel, demanding that he take breaks of at least one hour long intervals. No, instead these hour long ‘breaks’ are spent wrapping the gifts that she designates to him- to make sure he doesn’t see any of his own- or helping to set up and decorate the Christmas tree, which manages to gain more ornamental decorations on with each passing day .
Apparently you could ‘never have too many decorations’ on a Christmas Tree.
All in all, the last few days before Christmas are very busy in Dipper’s house, but he’s honestly thankful for it. The buzz cancels out the depressing silence he’s sure would have hung in the air had they not come.
Finally, days later, Christmas Eve has come.
Normally Mabel would be awake and ranting about how they’re going to stay up late and watch movies and snack on popcorn and chocolate chip gingerbread cookies with a glass of milk in each hand. Unfortunately for her, after everything she has done the past few days to make sure the dinner dishes are fully prepared and ready to serve on Christmas, she was exhausted and ended up passing out on the couch.
Dipper smiles at his sister’s sleeping form, suggesting they all camp out in the living room until Christmas morning, and both Stans agree to the idea. Dipper grabs the pillows and blankets from each room as well as a few extra, and they set up a sleeping area around the couch where Mabel sleeps. They exchange good nights, and before long, everyone is asleep.
△
It’s nearly midnight when Dipper is awakened by the soft click of a lock coming undone. He groans tiredly, rubbing his eyes before glancing around at his sleeping family members. Everything seems fine, except for the empty space on the couch where Mabel should have been.
“Mabel?” Dipper sits up, looking around for any sign of his sister. To his dismay, he sees nothing, and a slow panic begins to rise in his chest when he doesn’t hear a reply after calling her name. In the midst of his rising panic, he catches the sound of a door closing. He is immediately on his feet, grabbing his jacket and barely remembering to grab a pair of shoes before rushing to the door. The door is still cracked, and he can see snow floating inside from the opening. He moves as quietly as he can to avoid waking his grunkles and opens the door, shivering when a gust of cold wind and snow assaults him immediately. He sees no one, but there are fresh- and literal- footprints in the snow just past his porch.
“Mabel…”
Without another thought, Dipper quickly slips the sneakers he grabbed onto his sockless feet and is dashing off into the snow, following the footprints down the street. He asks any of the few stragglers that are out this late if they’ve seen his sister, giving them a quick description of her. When someone finally nods and points him toward the treeline of the forest, he nods his thanks and takes off before they can respond.
Dipper stops at the treeline, pressing a hand against the trunk of a tree while he leans over to catch his breath. He doesn’t know what’s going on, but he catches sight of more footprints going deeper into the trees. A cold wind blows past, causing him to shiver again, but that doesn't matter. He has to find Mabel and bring her back home. His brow sets with determination before taking off again, following Mabel’s tracks into the trees.
He’s not sure how long he’s been going, but the cold is finally getting to Dipper when he spots Mabel in a small open patch near a log between the trees. His fingers and toes tingle as numbness begins to settle into them, but relief fills him as he jogs up to his sister, now that he knows she is safe.
“Mabel, what-” Dipper’s words die in his throat when he gets close enough to see what lies before his sister. Sitting buried in a pile of snow rests the long forgotten statue of Bill Cipher, hand extended just as it was when he shook Stan’s hand back in the fearamid years ago.
Mabel stands stock still, clad in only her pyjamas and a christmas sweater, staring at the one eyed demon’s statue.
“Do you ever wonder what would happen if you shake his hand?”
She speaks quietly, but Dipper can hear her even over the wind and snow blowing around them.
“Mabel, we shouldn’t be here… It’s freezing, and you aren’t even wearing shoes, how can- Mabel!”
Dipper’s arm belts out to catch his sister’s, stopping her just before her fingers can make contact with the statue’s own. She turns to look at him over her shoulder, eyes unblinking as she sees the clear worry on his face.
“Mabel, you’re acting way weirder than usual.”
“No, you must be imagining things. I’m perfectly fine, Dip-Dop!”
Dipper’s brows furrow. “Mabel. You are literally standing barefoot in pile of snow. We’re miles from the house at this point, and you’ve been out like that for a while. I knowyour feet sting like shit after being exposed to the cold so long-”
“I know, right? It’s kinda hilarious, actually; they hurt like hell, but it’s not really bothering me, much.”
Dipper freezes, his hand releasing Mabel’s wrist to fall at his side. His sister cocks a brow in response, staring at him curiously. “Dip, you alright?”
When he doesn’t respond, she turns fully around to face him with worried eyes. “I think the cold might be getting to you more than me, Dip. We should probably head back to the house.”
Mabel reaches out a hand to grasp Dipper’s own, but he steps back from her reach, fixing her with a glare. “Get out.”
“Wha-”
Before she can respond, Dipper tackles mabel to the ground and the two go rolling through the snow a bit aways from Bill’s statue. Dipper has Mabel pinned to the ground, snow covering both of them from the fall, and his breathing is coming heavily in his anger.
“Get out of Mabel’s body, or I will do whatever it takes to banish you in the most painful way, Cipher!”
Mabel blinks up at Dipper before a chuckle slips past her lips, evolving shortly after into an insane fit of giggles.
“Wow, and here I thought you’d never find out. Guess I should have chosen my words a bit more carefully,” the demon laughs with a disturbingly distorted mix of his own voice mixed with Mabel’s.
“BILL, GET OUT OF HER BODY!”
“Sorry Pine Tree, but so long as her conscious mind is out of commission, I’m here to stay, kid!”
Dipper growled, tightening his grip on Ma- Bill's wrists. “What did you do to her?”
Bill tuts at Dipper, wagging a finger before grinning up at him. “Oh, it’s not what I did, it’s what she did, and she gave me a small tiny piece of her soul in exchange for making sure you were able to be there for your little Christmas get together. I mean, it’s not like I can do anything with it aside from get energy. Well, at least not while she’s awake, but she doesn’t know that.”
It takes all of Dipper’s strength not to strangle Bill, but the fact that it’s still Mabel’s body prevents him from doing so, and Bill knows this, by the shit eating grin he’s sporting.
“Face it, Pine Tree, there’s nothing you can do here. Your sister’s in it for the long haul, regardless of whether she knows it or not, and so long as I have a piece of her soul, you can't banish me.”
Dipper raises a fist, ready to punch Bill in the face, but he stops, lowering his hand because there’s literally nothing he can do.
“I might be willing to give your sister back in exchange for something of yours, Pine Tree…”
“What are you even after?”
Bill hums, lying his head back into the snow as if in thought before closing his eyes. "Well, I guess you're content with me being able to take possession of Star's body any time she's unconscious. Oh, the things I could do on a joyride in here- whoo! It's gonna be a blast."
"Bill!"
The demon's eyes shoot open, no longer the brown pools of chocolate that Dipper knows like the back of his own hand, but they glow yellow with an ethereal light, pupils having narrowed into the black slits that he remembers seeing in his own body, as if looking in a mirror. "Hey, it's not my fault your sister was so torn up about someone not making it to a stupid dinner party that she didn't think of a way to compromise and solve the issue herself. That's on you , Pine Tree. You should know your sister better than anyone else, and you put your cushy little job before her. What kind of brother does that make you?"
Dipper's eyes widen. He knows Bill is just playing the guilt card, trying to goad him into making a deal, but even despite knowing this, the fact remains that he's right . Dipper knew his sister would be upset that he couldn't make the dinner. That's just how Mabel is, He knew there were alternate solutions to the problem, but he was so wrapped up in his work and meeting the deadline that he failed to think up an alternative, and now Bill has access to Mabel's body because of it. He releases his grip on Mabel's wrists, leaning back and allowing the demon to sit up from the mound of snow.
"Ah, much better! Now, I'll give you back your sister, in exchange for your soul, Pine Tree."
Dipper bites his lip, knowing that's a huge demand on his part. But Bill can’t be banished while he holds a piece of Mabel's soul. At least not without hurting Mabel herself in the process. Dipper looks down at the possessed body of his twin, giving the demon inside the worst glare he possibly can.
“This cold is starting to make my arms tingle, and I already can't feel my feet, so,” with the flick of a wrist, Mabel’s hand is engulfed in blue fire and extended toward Dipper. “Do we have a deal, Pine Tree?”
Dipper stares at the flickering flames in his sister's hand, fists clenched in the snow before quickly reaching a hand up to clasp it firmly. Bill’s grin stretches wide, almost unnaturally so as he uses his ‘borrowed nails’ to dig into the skin of Dipper’s own.
“Pleasure doing business with you, kid…”
As soon as he hears those words, Dipper feels a shock of heat shoot up his arm and into his chest. His free hand clutches at the fabric of his shirt, directly over his heart as pain shoots from his chest to each of his limbs. He barely hears himself scream through the loud ringing in his ears as well as Bill’s insane laughter.
Dipper barely registers anything aside from the agonizing pain in his chest, but he does see his sister collapse in the snow before he himself blacks out.
△
Ford sits bolt upright with a gasp, having just woken from a nightmare. Though he couldn’t exactly remember what had happened, he knew it was nothing pretty, and he was thankful that he couldn't remember the details. Glancing at the now empty couch and the sleeping space directly beside it, he notices the twins were missing.
“Stanley. Stanley, wake up,” he whispered, shaking his brother's shoulder to wake him.
“It’s past midnight and the kids are missing.”
“Maybe they went to open some gifts, or whatever,” Stan grumbles sleepily before turning over. “Now go back to bed, Poindexter…” Checking the clock on the wall Ford sees it is past midnight. It’s officially Christmas, but there is a distinct lack of a set of overly excited twins despite that fact.
“Stanley, I think something's wrong.”
Stan groans, sitting up and rubbing his forehead in a sleepy agitation, fully ready to chew Ford out for disturbing his sleep when there’s a loud bang at the front door.
Stan is definitely awake now, and he shoots Ford a quick glance before they’re both up and running to the door. When they reach the door, Stan takes a peek through the peephole and sees Dipper and Mabel approaching the porch. Neither are dressed properly to be out in such cold weather, and Stan practically throws the door open.
“What the hell are you two doin’ outside in PJs and no shoes ?!”
Dipper and Mabel glance at each other and a grin spreads slowly across their faces simultaneously.
“A pair of hop-along boots and a pistol that shoots Is the wish of Barney and Ben,” Dipper sings softly, turning toward his uncles.
“Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk Is the hope of Janice and Jen,” Mabel chimes in behind him, head cocking slightly to the side, moving to stand closer to her brother.
Stan and Ford exchange a worried glance, but Ford’s seems to darken in horror and disbelief when a third familiar voice chimes into the twins’ song.
“And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.”
The twins blink, their black pupils overtaking their brown irises and narrowing into slits. Both Stans visibly tense at the sight, Ford reaching toward the back of his pants, if only he can just- but he can’t. All too suddenly, he feels a pressure come over him, rendering him immobile. Beside him, Stan groans, apparently having succumb to the same invisible force.
“It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Soon, the bells will start. And the thing that will make them ring, is the carol that you sing right within your heart.”
A spark of blue flames ignites behind the young Mystery Twins, and from it emerges a dapper looking gentleman in casual black suit slacks, a white collared long sleeve shirt, and a bright yellow trench coat draped over his shoulders. His right eye is shut, and a triangular scar rests right over it.
“It- It can’t be…! I thought we destroyed you, Cipher!”
Bill chuckles at Stan’s exclamation, placing a hand on his hip. “You thought wrong, Fez. You can’t destroy energy, you old codger. And what am I? Pure energy! Well, that’s not so much the case now.” Bill steps forward to stand directly behind Dipper and Mabel, placing a hand on each of their heads respectively.
“I have your little niece and nephew here to thank for that,” he sings giddily before laughing.
“What have you done to them, Cipher?!” Ford grimaces, trying desperately to move, but whatever Bill has done to them keeps he and Stan, who is desperately trying to break free and charge the demon head on, frozen in place.
“I haven’t done anything! They gave me their souls willingly! Well, in Shooting Star’s case, a small portion. I can only control her so long as her mind’s unconscious. But with the energy I got from Pine Tree’s soul… I can keep her mind unconscious for as long as I want, so might as well be the same thing! Ha!”
Both Stans unleash a flurry of curses at the demon, still struggling, but unable to move. “CIPHER, I WILL FIND A WAY TO FREE THEM-”
“AND THEN I’LL BEAT YOUR DAMN TRIANGULAR ASS!”
“Big talk, boys, but this time I’ve got you trumped.” With a snap of his fingers, the older Pines twins find themselves thrown backward into the house, smacking the far wall opposite from the door. Their backs hit the wall, the plaster cracking and falling away in small crackles behind them.
Still unable to move, they can only watch as Dipper and Mabel step into the dark, unlit hallway. Bill is right behind them, glancing around Dipper’s home at all the decorations they have set up. He has to admit, he’s none too impressed. “You guys really have no sense of decoration. But don’t worry! My little puppets will help spruce up the place!”
The Stans look on in both horror and anger as Dipper and Mabel both chuckle. Bill extends his arms out in an over the top manner, and the front door slams shut, leaving the hall completely dark, save for the dim, unnatural blue glow of the young Pines’ eyes, Bill’s own single eye, and the triangular scar over his closed eye.
△
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Soon the bells will start
And the thing that will make them ring, is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
△△△
Merry Christmas From Cipher and his Twin Puppets