The year following Weirdmageddon passed slowly in Gravity Falls, Oregon. The near-apocalypse had apparently infused enough weirdness into the town and surrounding forest that the universe decided to give the town-folk a breather, of sorts. However, even in times of peace, the magical and mysterious often lurks just beneath the surface, biding its time. This is Gravity Falls, after all.
/
A bus wound its way along a twisting, mountain highway, the tall pine trees edging the road blocking out the sunlight. On board the bus were Dipper and Mabel Pines, finally returning to Gravity Falls for their second summer. The year had brought about changes: both the twins had had growth spurts, and were finally starting to look like the teenagers they were, rather than the cherub-faced twelve-year-olds they had been at the beginning of last summer.
Mentally, the year had been a difficult one for Dipper. The events of Weirdmageddon still weighed heavily on his mind, and his nightmares of the event were frequent and haunting. He'd talked about it with Great Uncle Ford when he and Stanley had called the twins to check in, after they'd been at sea on the Stan O' War for a few months. Ford assured Dipper that the nightmares were dreams, and nothing more. He'd said there was nothing to worry about. Dipper was trying his hardest to believe his Grunkle.
Mabel was surprisingly (mostly) unaffected by Weirdmageddon. She was still her over-enthusiastic, hyperactive self. If anything, the world nearly being destroyed had renewed her personal mission to live every day to the fullest, and to always try to have fun.
Dipper turned from the window, tired of watching what looked like the same pine tree pass the bus over and over. He grinned at Mabel, who was humming tunelessly to herself, flipping through the pages of her scrapbook from last summer, and petting her pig Waddles, who was entirely to big to be laying on her lap, but who was sprawled out on her lap nonetheless.
"So, Mabel, what's the first thing you want to do after we get settled in at the Mystery Shack?" he asked his sister.
Mabel jumped, eliciting a soft, sleepy snort of protest from Waddles. She turned to Dipper and laughed. "Gosh, you scared me bro-bro! I thought you were asleep. Um…" Mabel giggled and twirled a strand of her long brown hair around a finger. "I think I'll go see Candy and Grenda—no, wait, Soos! I want to hang with Soos—oh, but I also want to chill with Wendy's crew…"
At the mention of the ginger lumberjane's name, Dipper's cheeks grew warm. Wendy was the coolest person he knew, and he had a not-so-secret crush on her.
"I, uh, I vote for seeing what Wendy and the gang are up to," he said, attempting to sound casual.
Mabel snorted and rolled her eyes. "I should have known that's who you'd want to see first," she said, making kissy noises, and punching Dipper lightly on the shoulder.
Dipper opened his mouth to reply to her, but snapped it closed, as the bus slowed with a hiss of brakes.
"Now arriving in Gravity Falls!" called out the elderly bus driver.
"YAS!" cried Mabel. Forgetting about Waddles on her lap, she jumped to her feet. The pig let out an offended squeal as he tumbled to the floor. "Oops, sorry Waddles!"
The twins grabbed their backpacks and disembarked the bus, Waddles following at their heels. Grunkle Stan was waiting for them in the parking lot, leaning against the Stanmobile, arms crossed, a rakish grin spread across his face.
Mabel instantly became a human missile, and launched herself at her Great Uncle, screeching unintelligibly as she threw her arms around him, nearly plowing him over in the process.
"Hey kiddo, I've missed you too," said Stan, hugging Mabel back, and then patting her on the head before disengaging.
"Hey Grunkle Stan," Dipper said, nodding and smiling at the older man. His salutation to his Great Uncle was as reserved as Mabel's was over-the-top. "How was your year at sea?"
Stan clapped Dipper on the shoulder. "Eh, good, I guess? Exhausting, though. Poindexter kept dragging me hither and yon, looking for all sorts of weird crap. I'm just happy to be home. I only arrived back in town about a half hour before I had to meet your bus."
"Where is Grunkle Ford, anyway?" asked Dipper.
"He said he'd try to be home in a week or two," answered Stan, shrugging. "He had a few more weird nerd things to look into before heading home for the summer. Now come on, let's get your trunks out of the bus, and get back the Shack. I've missed that dilapidated tourist trap."
/
The bus station was on the opposite side of town from the Mystery Shack, so their route home took them through the center of Gravity Falls. The three had been chatting excitedly, but their voices faded into silence as they drove down Main Street.
"Something's…different," muttered Stan, narrowing his eyes as slowly drove down the quiet street.
Gravity Falls looked like a quaint little town right out of the 1950's. Everything was too neat and perfect.
"Uh, I know it's more Ford's thing, but do you think maybe we just drove through a wormhole or something?" asked Dipper, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "The town is…entirely too wholesome."
Mabel had her face and hands pressed up against her window. When she spoke her breath fogged the glass. "It looks like we're in 'Back to the Future,' only we're in the 'back' part, not the 'future' part."
"I don't think so?" Stan said uncertainly. "I mean, look, there's Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland."
"Huh," said Dipper, settling back against his seat. "Weird."
No one spoke again until they reached the Mystery Shack.
"What the—" said Stan loudly, as he threw the car into park. The three got out of the Stanmobile and stared open-mouthed at the Mystery Shack. It was normally in a slight state of disrepair. The letters spelling out Mystery Shack took turns falling. Cedar shingles sat crookedly, needing to be replaced. The front porch sagged in the middle. But it wasn't just in a state of disrepair now. It was in a state of complete ruin.
"What happened?" asked Mabel quietly. She sounded near tears. Waddles grunted softly as he rooted in the dirt next to her feet.
Dipper shook his head, unable to speak.
"I don't know," Stanley growled. "But you can bet your butt I'm gonna find out."
"Stanley, Mabel, Dipper, and… pig!" said a familiar voice cheerfully from the edge of the woods. "How wonderful it is to see all you fellows."
The three turned to see Soos Ramirez, the Shack's former handyman, and supposed current Mr. Mystery, striding toward them from the trees. Instead of the Mr. Mystery get-up, however, he was wearing a pair of plain black slacks, and a bright yellow button-down dress shirt.
"Soos!" Mabel exclaimed, rushing to her large friend, and wrapping him in a giant hug.
"Ah, Mabel Pines," said Soos, smiling vacantly, and patting the top of Mabel's head. "I am so happy to see you looking so well after such a long time apart. Will you be staying with us again this summer?"
Alarm bells were blaring in Dipper's head. Not only was Soos dressed like he'd just come from Bible study—but he didn't sound at all like himself. For a moment Dipper thought he might just be being paranoid, because it had been almost a year since he'd seen Soos or heard him talk. However, that didn't explain the church clothes, or the weird 1950s vibe going on in the rest of Gravity Falls. And the Soos Dipper remembered would certainly not have forgotten to call and mention that the Mystery Shack was literally falling apart.
Before Dipper could think on it any further, he heard the rumblings of a vehicle coming up the old dirt road toward the Shack. It was Thompson's van. It pulled to a stop accompanied by the groan of brakes in need of replacement, and a group of teens unloaded: Thompson, Nate, Lee, Tambry, and Robbie. Dipper was excited to see them, until he noticed their outfits.
The boys wore Gravity Falls High School varsity jackets, neatly pressed slacks, and shiny black loafers, while Tambry sported a yellow poodle skirt and cardigan combo, with a black blouse underneath, and black and white saddle shoes on her feet. Something was terribly wrong with this picture. The only thought that crossed Dipper's mind was: Run. Run like hell.
"Stan, Mabel, you need to run, now!" he shouted, not stopping to look behind him as he darted for the woods. He didn't hear Mabel yell after him.
"Dipper, what the heck? Why are you running from our friends?" she called. Mabel turned toward Stan, and he shrugged at her.
"I mean, I know their fashion choices are strange now, but they're not scary," she said to her Grunkle. Then she turned back to give hugs to all her old friends.
/
Dipper ran until he couldn't breathe, reaching a place deep in the forest he'd never seen before. He had no idea what had happened to all his friends, but whatever it was, it couldn't have been good. Robbie would never willingly dress like a jock and Tambry— Dipper gasped. He just realized that Tambry's ever-present cell phone had not been clutched in her hands. And before he took off running, she had actually made eye contact with him. Yeah, something was seriously wrong.
Dipper slowed, clutching a stitch in his side. He collapsed at the edge of a clearing, under an old oak tree. At the center of the clearing stood an oddly shaped stone, but Dipper was too exhausted and winded to investigate it right now. He closed his eyes, trying to catch his breath.
"Oh, Piiiine Tree!"
Dipper's eyes flew open. That voice. It haunted his nightmares. But he wasn't asleep. His heartbeat began to thunder in his ears as his eyes darted around the clearing. The oddly shaped stone. It was triangular, with a skinny hat shape perched on top of it.
"No," whispered Dipper. He crawled toward the stone, and his fears were confirmed. It was shaped exactly like Bill Cipher.
"Hiya, Pine Tree! Long time, no see!" the maniacal, high-pitched voice echoed in Dipper's head. "I was wondering when you'd come visit. It's lonely out here, with no one to torment. Ha! Just kidding. You should see your face, though. Don't worry, I'm just a shell. No powers. No way to torment anyone. I might as well be a rock. HAHAHAHA get it?"
Dipper's lip curled up in derision. "Yeah, right. I bet you're behind what's happened to my friends."
"Oh no, not me, nothing doing!" insisted the demonic voice. "Honestly, is there really anything wrong with them? Did they try to eat your face or something? No? Just changed their wardrobe? Oooh, spooky."
Dipper was quiet for a moment. Maybe he was just being paranoid. After all, he'd been gone for a year, and people do change. Then Dipper grunted and shook his head. No. Bill Cipher was trying to convince him that his friends were perfectly normal. Bill Cipher was a demon. Demons lie and manipulate people. Maybe Cipher wasn't actually behind the weirdness, seeing as he was locked in stone, but there was definitely something strange happening, and Dipper was determined to get to the bottom of it.
Dipper stood and brushed the grass from his knees. "Enjoy your prison, Bill. You won't see me again." He turned his back on the stone Cipher, and began to walk away.
"Yeah, right, Pine Tree. Tell me, have you seen Ice Bag yet? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Have fun with that! HAHAHAHA! Just you wait, boy—you'll be back soon. The mind is a fragile place! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The sound of Bill's maniacal laughter chased Dipper from the forest, as he sped off in search of Wendy.
/
Soos and Wendy's gang (sans Wendy) had been uncharacteristically forceful in their attempts to convince Stanley and Mabel to accompany them to what they said was a "town meeting." The two thought it strange, but they eventually agreed to go, and clambered into Thompson's van.
The van stopped outside of the Gravity Falls High School gymnasium. Mabel and Stan followed their friends inside, and saw that nearly the entire population of the town filled the bleachers, in a sea of neat black and yellow clothing. Despite the crowd, the gym was eerily quiet. A lone, hooded figure stood at center court. He beckoned to Stan and Mabel with his hands held aloft. Mabel turned to look back at her friends, but they had melted into the crowd.
Mabel turned forward, and as she and Stan walked toward the figure, she noticed the person was rolling a small yellow gemstone between their fingers.
"Ah, the original Mr. Mystery, and young Mabel Pines. We've been expecting you—although we had hoped your brother would be with you as well."
Gazing at the shining yellow jewel, Mabel felt compelled to explain her twin's absence. "Dipper ran off into the woods. He seemed really paranoid about something. But to be fair, it seems like Dipper's always paranoid about something, anymore." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Mabel's cheeks burned crimson, as the shame of sharing Dipper's secret with the entire town hit her.
"Oh, now, sweet child, don't you fret. We'll bring your brother around in due time. He has nothing to fear from any of us," said the hooded stranger. The crowd murmured in agreement. Mabel felt herself relax, as the warmth and sincerity of the figure's words washed over her.
Stanley glanced down at his great niece, a frown spread across his face. He looked back up at the spot where the hooded figure's face should be, never risking a glance at the enticing, shiny jewel in their hand.
"Why the secrecy, then?" barked Stan. "Show me your face, you hooligan!"
The figure chuckled. "You always were a suspicious old coot, weren't you, Stanley? Very well. If it will convince you that I mean no harm, and that you and your niece and nephew are safe, so be it."
The figure raised both hands to clutch the fabric of their hood, the light catching on the spinning, yellow orb that they continued to manipulate, even as they pulled back the hood.
Stan's jaw went slack. He had been worried about something…what was it? He didn't remember.
"Don't worry about anything, now," said the figure, as the hood fell back to reveal their face. "It's all for the Good of the Town."
As the man spoke these words, the entire gymnasium, including Mabel and Stan, echoed them: "FOR THE GOOD OF THE TOWN."
/
Dusk was approaching as Dipper finally made his way out of the forest and back to the Mystery Shack. The Stanmobile was still parked out front, but when Dipper peeked inside, he saw that Mabel's backpack was still sitting on the backseat. If she had gone inside, she would have taken it with her.
Dipper headed toward the front door of the Shack, passing a sleeping Waddles sprawled out on the porch. He needed to find Grunkle Ford's journals. Maybe there'd be a clue in them as to what could be going on in Gravity Falls.
Dipper pushed the gift shop door open, the rusty hinges creaking loudly. He was dismayed at the sight before him. The gift shop was a disaster. Boxes were strewn haphazardly around the room, and a thick layer of dust covered every surface.
Wait. Not every surface. Dipper blinked, and peered closer at the floor, where a set of recent-looking footprints lead from the front door, through the door in the back of the shop labeled "Employees Only." Dipper took a deep breath, and followed the footprints, pushing the door open to reveal his home from the previous summer.
Dipper's already somber mood grew even darker. The air was thick with dust, and smelled musty. It was clear that nobody had been there in a long time. The couch looked like it had been feasted upon by rats, the television was completely busted, and the sickeningly sweet smell of rotten food wafted from the kitchen.
Dipper swallowed back the bile threatening to rise in his throat, and squinted at the floor, trying to see where the footprints that led into the house had gone. His heart nearly stopped when he heard the clunk of someone walking around upstairs. He slowly made his way up the staircase, cursing his luck when a loud creak from the steps tore through the relative silence of the shack.
"Who's there? Soos, is that you, dude?"
Dipper's eyes widened. He could recognize that voice anywhere. He sprinted up the rest of the stairs, and threw open the door to his and Mabel's attic bedroom.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you Wen…dy…" Dipper trailed off.
This was Wendy as he had never seen her before. Her green flannel top, grungy jeans, and heavy boots were nowhere to be seen. Instead, Wendy wore a bright yellow, midriff-baring tank top, a pleated back miniskirt, and black and yellow sneakers. Her long, fire-colored hair was pulled back into French braid pigtails, tied at the ends with yellow satin ribbons. Gone was the lumberjane Dipper was familiar with. In her place was a cheerleader.
Dipper gulped. She was hot. But she wasn't Wendy. He slowly backed up, preparing himself to run again.
"Wha-what's going on Wendy?" he stammered. "Why are you…what's with the outfit?"
A smile touched Wendy's face, and she winked at him. "Calm down, dude. It's still me. This is just a disguise, so that the Stepford town will think I'm one of them."
Dipper sighed. His eyes roamed up and down Wendy's body, as he took in how she looked after a year. Yeah. Hot. Dipper blinked and coughed, when he realized where he'd been letting his eyes linger. His cheeks burned, and he ran his fingers through his hair.
"I really missed you, Wendy. Wh-when I saw you dressed like a cheerleader, I thought you were one of them."
Wendy crossed her arms and grinned. "Yeah right, dork. I'm sure that was your first thought when you saw me like this."
Dipper's entire face burned, as his thirteen-year-old brain went into panic mode. "Wh-what?" he stammered.
"I really missed you, Big Dipper," Wendy purred, slowly walking across the room toward him. Dipper felt like his brain was short circuiting. Why was she saying everything like some kind of innuendo?
"I'm so glad you're back now—can you please help me?" Wendy murmured softly. She reached out, and cupped his cheek, bringing his face close to her own.
Dipper's body went into lock down. Wendy was trying to kiss him. On one hand, he felt like pumping a fist in the air in victory, and letting her. His rational brain, however, won out. He gazed into her eyes, and realized they were slightly unfocused, like she wasn't really seeing him. Like she was in a dream. Without thinking, Dipper's hand shot up, and he smacked Wendy hard across the face.
"Ah! What the hell?" shouted Wendy, leaping backward and holding a hand against her bright red cheek. "Wait, Dipper? Where am I? Why the hell did you just hit me? Why are you even here? School isn't out for like a month!" She glared at him, her eyes fully in focus. The vapid smile she'd been wearing was nowhere in sight.
Dipper bit his lip, and tried to keep his chin from trembling, as he murmured "I'm sorry, Wendy."
Wendy blinked, and realized that Dipper was nearly the same height as she was. She also realized that his eyes were wet with unshed tears.
"Why did you slap me, dude?" she asked softly.
"You-you were trying to kiss me, and your eyes—they didn't look right and I panicked, and oh God, I'm so sorry Wendy, I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm so sorry!" The words came rushing out in a jumble as he rushed over to her and hugged her.
Wendy hugged him back. "I…tried to kiss you?" she asked hesitantly. "Why?"
Dipper let her go and stepped away from her. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know…something weird is going on in Gravity Falls. It may have something to do with why you're dressed like that." He gestured to her outfit.
Wendy looked down and took in her ensemble, her cheeks glowing more brightly than her hair. "I'm a—I'm a fucking cheerleader," she said, a bit too calmly. "Whoever did this is so dead."
"Everyone else was dressed in GFHS colors, too. Does this have something to do with the high school?" asked Dipper.
Wendy frowned. A vague image of a hooded figure and a yellow stone came to mind. The hooded figure was standing in the center of the high school gym. Almost as soon as the memory appeared, it began to slip away.
"Yeah, GFHS. The gym." She winced, and held a hand to her forehead. "A guy in black, with a yellow rock or something…it was shiny… Dipper, you have to destroy it… it was so shiny… I can't…" Wendy gripped the sides of her head and let out a loud groan, falling to her knees.
"Wendy!" cried Dipper, rushing to her side. "Are you okay?"
Wendy giggled softly, and Dipper's stomach dropped. She looked up at him, doe-eyed, a vacant smile plastered on her face.
"Of course I'm okay, dork," she said. She took Dipper's offered hand, and got to her feet. She reached out to stroke his hair, and he flinched.
"Aw, don't be like that, dude," purred Wendy. "Come to the school with me, Dipper. Then everything will be alright. Then we can be together."
Her words made Dipper's heart hurt. "To-together. S-sure, Wendy," he stammered, swallowing hard, and forcing a smile. "Let's go."
Dipper's face was hard with his resolve. Whoever did this was going to pay.
/
It was fully dark out by the time Dipper and Wendy reached GFHS. They had walked, and while they walked, fake Wendy chattered at Dipper nonstop, telling all the things he wanted to hear: She wanted to be with him. She'd been a fool to deny she'd had feelings for him last summer. As she prattled on, Dipper smiled grimly. He wanted to hear those things, yes. But from the real Wendy Corduroy. The one wearing green flannel, with mud on her boots, and a hatchet stuck through the belt loop on her jeans. Not this impostor.
As they entered the gymnasium, Dipper tried to ignore Wendy's simpering. He ran through everything that had happened back at the Shack in his head. The shock of being slapped had momentarily awakened the real Wendy. He knew then he had to somehow shock the entire town. He couldn't very well run around slapping every individual. How could he shock the entire town at once?
"Welcome, young Dipper! Wendy, my dear, I'm so glad you were able to persuade our friend to join us!"
The voice drew Dipper out of his thoughts. He looked up to see a mysterious hooded figure welcoming him with open arms. He gazed around the gym, and saw his family, his friends—all the people he had grown close with over the previous summer. White-hot anger settled comfortably into Dipper's chest. This was an anger he had not felt in a long time. This level of hatred was reserved for only one thing.
"Cipher."
The name escaped Dipper's lips the instant his eyes fell on the stone in the robed figure's hand. The stone was a piece of the demon's statue, Dipper was sure of it. An idea began to form in the back of the young teen's mind.
"Who are you?" Dipper demanded, glaring intently at the man who had the entire population of Gravity Falls in his thrall.
"What, you don't recognize me?" the stranger said cheerfully. He let his hood fall back.
Dipper blinked. "Tad Strange? What? Why? You're like, the most normal person in Gravity Falls!" Dipper paused, looking around at the crowd of vacant faces. "Well, you used to be."
Tad chuckled. "Exactly, Dipper! I'm normal—and now so is everyone else in this weird, God-forsaken town. No more weirdness, no more monsters, no more demons. All because of my little, magic rock."
While Tad was talking, Dipper had drooped his shoulders and looked at the floor, in seeming defeat. He was waiting for his moment. This was it.
A maniacal grin spread across Dipper's face, as he lift his head. He let it loll loosely on his shoulders, as if he wasn't used to having a head to hold up.
"Don't you mean my rock, Tadpole?" Eyes wide, Dipper let out a high-pitched giggle, and stretched his arms out, dancing a little shimmy. "Oh my God, it feels so good to move about freely after a year in this pathetic meat-sack's head!"
Tad's expression instantly switched from smug satisfaction to absolute terror. "No, you can't be back—you were defeated! You were dead!" he screamed at the boy who had once been Dipper Pines.
A massive shift took place in the attitudes of the townsfolk crowding the bleachers. Murmurs rippled through the sea of black and yellow. Could it really be true? Was Bill Cipher back?!
The possessed Dipper strode confidently toward Tad Strange, but several familiar faces rushed to block his way. Stan, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy gathered protectively in front of the man who had brought peace and normality to Gravity Falls.
Bipper threw his head back, and laughed. "Oh, this is just too much. Geezer, Shooting Star, Ice Bag and Idiot Man-Child are gonna stop me. That's rich. We all know that you won't wanna hurt my widdle Pine Tree meat suit, so shoo. Get out of my way."
"We won't let you hurt Tad," they said in eerie unison.
The meat-suit formerly known as Dipper stopped in front of them with his hands on his hips. "Hmm. Yep, gonna have to fix this. I just can't believe that no one noticed that I was still here. I'm lookin' at you, Shooting Star. Did you really not notice, or did you simply not care any more? I mean, come on—all the nights he woke up screaming, seeing his friends dying over and over in thousands of horrific ways—and you just couldn't be bothered to give a damn, could you? Hoo boy, did Dipper hate you for that. You had all the friends you could want, and no time to spare for poor little Dipper. Mmmm. His pain was delicious."
"Stop please, just stop!" Mabel cried. She'd clamped her hands over her ears, and tears rolled down her cheeks. The murmur from the crowd increased in volume, as it dawned on the populace that the dream demon was once again among them.
The demon-possessed teen continued smiling widely, as he swung his head around, and gestured toward Soos and Stan. "And you two," he spat. "One's too stupid to help his friend, and the other doesn't give two shits, because there's not a quick buck to be made. Ugh. Pathetic. I love it."
Then he turned to Wendy. A look that could have been easily mistaken for compassion crossed his features, before it was quickly replaced with a look of complete derision.
"Ah, Red. He hates you most of all! You were the one person who got him—the one person he cared about more than anything on this stupid ball of mud—and you abandoned him. All because of the number of revolutions the earth made around the sun between your birthdays. He would have died for you, do you realize that?" Bipper snorted. "Well, I guess in a way he kind of did, huh? HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
His high-pitched peal of laughter echoed through the otherwise silent gymnasium, as he walked past the former Dipper's friends and family, all of whom had sunk to their knees in the shock and heartbreak caused by his words. Bipper approached Tad, his hand held out.
"I'll take my stone now, Tad," he whispered, his wide, crazed eyes staring into the depths of Tad Strange's soul. The frightened man knew that if the demon held the stone they were all doomed.
In a sudden burst of motion, Tad Strange dashed the stone to the gymnasium floor, where it shattered into dust. With the stone broken, so was Tad's influence over everyone's minds. The residents of the town began collapsing, as their brains began a hard reset.
Dipper Pines looked at the most normal man in Gravity Falls, his eyes narrowed in absolute loathing—not only for brainwashing his friends and family, but for the things he had said.
Dipper took a step toward Tad, his voice coming out in a low growl.
"Run."
Tad Strange spun on his heel and fled the gym in horror.
/
Dipper's anger quickly faded, and was replaced by an ache deep in his chest, as he stared down at his friends and family sprawled on the floor around him. He knew acting the way he had was the only way to get Tad to destroy the stone, but it was at the cost of his relationships with the people he loved most in the world. The things he'd said—he was sure that they'd never be able to forgive him. Nor would they ever trust him again, instilled with a new fear that the demon could be hiding just below the surface of Dipper's consciousness, waiting for a chance to strike. Dipper didn't think he could handle the pain. He had saved everyone, and lost them at the same time.
Dipper sighed and tucked his hands into his pockets. He trudged toward the gym's exit, and upon reaching it, turned to face everyone he loved one last time.
"Goodbye," he whispered. Then he pushed through the door. The night breeze cooled his hot cheeks, as he disappeared into the darkness.
/
/
I've been working on this story for two years now, and I decided it was time to go back and get the first few chapters up to snuff. I'll be rewriting up through chapter four.
I'd love reviews or messages, they really keep me going. If you remember the original first chapter, what do you think of this rewrite? Is there anything in particular you'd like to see happen in the story where it stands currently? Have you picked up on any of the little Easter eggs I've scattered throughout the story (especially in the later chapters)?
Thanks for reading.
Peace