"Don't wanna hear your voice. Think that you know me, but you're all wrong. Got it all wrong."

Chapter Four: Multiple Shocks

Dipper was still missing. It was around three p.m. now, and Mabel was starting to get even more worried. Where could he have gone? She trudged down the stairs of the Mystery Shack, her feet dragging on the wooden planks as she made her way to the main floor. She entered the gift-shop, an empty room with hardly anyone in it, as no tours were being held at the moment and there were no tourists in sight. Mabel could, however, see Wendy "working" at the counter with a magazine in her hands. While Melody had also started working at the shack once Soos invited her, Wendy was still usually the one at the cash-register. And either way, Soos and Melody were both in town running some errands today. Mabel made her way towards the teen, who lifted her gaze once she saw Mabel.

"Hey Wendy," Mabel greeted. "Have you... have you seen Dipper around?"

"Don't think so..." Wendy hummed, setting the magazine to the side. "He's probably off doing some nerd thing."

"Yeah, probably..." Mabel mumbled. Wendy lifted a brow, slightly concerned at her friend's tone.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Mabel sighed.

"I know it's probably nothing, but he's just been gone since nine... Should... should I be worried?"

Before Wendy could respond, the door from the outside swung open, ringing the small golden bell strung above the door. Mabel tilted her head to see who it was, and she let out a sigh of relief. It was Dipper. He had his hands in the pockets of his vest, kicking the door closed behind him without a backwards glance. His expression was unreadable, only frowning slightly. Mabel made her way over to her brother, who turned his gaze to watch her as she did.

"Dip-Dop! Where were you?" she asked, scanning him over. He still had his hands in his pockets, and his eyes narrowed as she asked her question.

"Nowhere important," he muttered, averting his gaze for a brief moment before looking at her again. "Why do you care?"

"Bro, you were gone for six hours, and you didn't even tell anyone where you were! Of course I'd care!"

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Yeah, of course, you'd care," he said with a slight growl and his tone dripping with sarcasm. He shook his head. "Look, it doesn't matter where I was."

Without waiting for a response, he pushed past her with his hands still in his pockets, exiting the gift-shop and presumably heading up to his and Mabel's room. Mabel stared after him for a moment, before exchanging a glance with Wendy, who was looking equally confused.

"...Did you guys have a fight or something?" Wendy questioned after a long pause.

"No... I don't think it did anything wrong..." Mabel replied. "But... Maybe? Maybe I did something, I-I... I'm not sure..." Did I do something? Mabel thought to herself. "I'm going to try to talk to him."

Wendy nodded, and Mabel sucked in a breath before charging through the "Employees Only" door, and rushing up the stairs to her and Dipper's room. Without wasting another second, she exploded into a room, the door slamming into the nearby wall. As she had thought, Dipper was in the room. He was sitting on the edge of his own bed, staring at her like he had expected her to come up. And something about his expression sent a shiver up her spine.

While his mouth was a straight line, neither a frown or a smile, his eyes were narrowed, flashing with a mixture of anger, annoyance, and pain. The brim of his hat was tipped downwards, casting a small shadow over his face. Mabel noted that still, he had not taken his hands out of his pockets.

For a long moment, neither spoke. Before Mabel asked in a quiet but clear voice...

"Did I do something wrong?"

Another long pause, in which neither really moved, nor spoke. Dipper sat like a stone statue, still, while Mabel's only movement was the heaving of her chest from racing up the stairs yet again.

Then...

"Yes."

Mabel tensed for a moment, wincing at his low, ice-cold tone. "W-what did I do...?" she asked quietly, stepping farther into the room, closing the door behind her. After she received no response, she stepped closer to her brother, who's expression didn't change at all. "What did I do, Dipper?" she repeated.

His answer made her tense up again, her eyes widening. "You're still here."

"W-what do you mean?" she stammered, taking a step back as he stood up, his expression finally shifting into one of pure hatred, one she had never ever seen before, not even in the face of Bill and the like.

"What do you think I mean?" She didn't get a chance to respond, and as he continued his voice was slowly rising in volume. "You're still here, and what have you ever done to deserve that, when so many have died and you're still here, even though you're selfish, amoral, arrogant, and you just stand aside while everyone goes to hell around you, but do you even give a fucking damn!? NO! How the fuck have you not been killed yet from everything that's tried to kill you, and how are you still here?"

Mabel gaped at her brother, tears stinging her eyes. She tried to respond, but her words came out as just stammering. It took her a few seconds to realize that Dipper had backed her up against a wall. And even though this was her brother, it made her heart beat faster.

"I guess I should thank them for not killing you, though," he sneered. Before Mabel could even try to comprehend just what he meant beyond the actual words, Dipper pulled his hands out of his pockets...

...and Mabel could see why he had kept them there for so long. They were crimson with dried blood, and Mabel could tell that it wasn't his. But oh, no, that wasn't what scared her the most...

She was more terrified of the knife that he was holding to her throat.

"Because that means I can do it myself."

He pressed the knife to her neck. Mabel's eyes widened more than she thought to be possible. This was her brother. Her twin brother. Holding a knife to her throat with the intention of killing her?

She snapped out of her thoughts. With all her strength, she shoved Dipper backwards, forcing him away from her. His eyes flashed with momentary shock, and Mabel was already racing for the door. Unfortunately, Dipper had already snapped out of his surprise, and had already blocked the way to the door. As she watched with terrified eyes while Dipper tossed the knife from one hand to the other like a baseball, she had one thought...

This can't be Dipper...

Before she screamed for help.

There were a lot of sounds that Ford had come to recognize and remember in Gravity Falls, and in the Mystery Shack. Maybe the sounds of the T.V. when Stan was watching "The Duchess Approves" (though he claimed otherwise), or maybe the sound of a dripping faucet from inside the kitchen. Maybe a bird was chirping outside. Maybe he could hear the pine branches rattling in the wind in a sort of song... Maybe he'd hear Mabel squealing excitedly about something...

But he knew that Mabel screaming for help was not normal. Even though he was in the basement, he could hear the call through the flooring. So he shot up from his place in the basement, where he had been reading an old book as a distraction, and wasted no more time before he bolted for the elevator door. He practically punched the button in the elevator, waiting in fearful silence. What could've terrified his great-niece that much?

When the elevator door slid open, he rushed outside, his racing mind trying to remember where the scream had come from.

The attic, he remembered with a jolt, paying almost no mind to Wendy, the cashier, who had probably also heard the call and Ford could dimly recognize that she, as well as Ford, were both rushing upstairs. He heard more footsteps coming up the stairs, and deduced that it must've been Stan, judging by how heavy they were against the creaking stairs. The trio then practically slid to the attic door, and Ford shoved it open.

Needless to say, Ford was expecting, well, he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't this. He thought maybe it could've been an intruder, some kind of monster that somehow got in, just something along those lines...

Not. This. He would never expect this.

Dipper was pinning Mabel to the ground, using one hand to hold her down and the other holding a gleaming knife speckled with bloodstains. Mabel looked absolutely terrified, while Dipper's expression seemed empty, the only trace of emotion being hatred. Ford's eyes widened, and he could hear the others gasping behind him, which in turn alerted the twins of their presence. Dipper looked up from whatever he had been trying to do, his own expression not shifting in the slightest, but Ford could see his grip on the weapon tightening.

At almost the same moment that Dipper looked up, Mabel lurched forwards to shove her twin off of her. Dipper stumbled backwards, yet not falling over. Mabel darted away from her twin, who's eyes darkened as he realized that Mabel had gotten away.

"What the fuck is going on here!?" Stanley exclaimed, probably not caring that he was cussing at the moment. Mabel looked like she wanted to reply, but when she tried, no words came out, just a lot of stammering.

Dipper straightened, his expression finally shifting, but not into anything better. With a wide grin and while tossing the knife from one hand to the other, he lifted his gaze to the trio in the doorway.

"Oh, you know, nothing important. Just trying to settle the score..." Moving his gaze to Mabel, he continued, "You should be glad death is all you're getting."

That was enough for Ford to realize that something was definitely wrong, in without any more hesitation, he moved his hand and reached into his coat, before pulling out a TASER gun and aiming it at Dipper. His expression dropped, realizing what Ford was about to do.

"Fuck," he muttered, before Ford pulled the trigger. The probes latched onto the younger twin, and Ford could see Mabel's eyes widening as her brother spasmed from the electricity shooting through his body, and the knife slid out of his hand, before he fell backwards onto the ground. Ford released the trigger, his chest heaving as he tried to comprehend what had just happened moments before.

After watching to make sure Dipper was actually immobilized, watching the boy's involuntary twitching, he drew in a breath.

"What was all that about?"

Author's Note: I am so sorry about the wait. I had a lot of writer's block and could not figure out how to write this chapter... So... sorry... I'll try not to take so long with my updates. I know it's annoying.

Anyways, the beginning line is from the song "Rules" by AViVA. Hope to see you all later!

Also, I was too lazy to proof-read this chapter, so... sorry if there were any mistakes.