What If Dipper Stayed?

The...End?

"This is taking forever." Mabel whisperer, hiding inside a bush. She, Grunkle Ford, and Dipper were sitting in the woods waiting for the Chormina, with Dipper sitting in the middle of some weird contraption. He had been doing better the last few hours, like solving one piece of the puzzle had healed half of his conditions.

"The Pinstile is a very patient creature. It feeds off of unpleasant memories, but it can be warded off by planting Smilacina racemosa, also known as False Solomon's Seal. It's a flower that hides the scent of the memories, so the Pinstile can't find them. It's what drove it away so long ago."

"So why is it back? There's flowers all over Gravity Falls."

"There is a very large possibility that it came back to attack Dipper. He was the main reason it was driven off, and he started the effort to plant all the flowers. It also lost quite a lot of its strength, so it may have been building it up again."

"What exactly did Dipper do to it? You guys keep talking in riddles."

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself. I was poisoned for much of that time, and Dipper doesn't talk about it much. Every time I ask Stanley, he just tells me its not his place to explain."

That was strange. Sure, Dipper had his reasons for being so quiet and cryptic. He often believed when they were younger that his words had no weight to them, but he'd grown much more confident in himself. People took him seriously when he said strange things happened. What had happened to make her brother clam up so much?

Somewhere to the right, a branch cracked. All the animals went silent, and the tension in the air grew very thick. It had finally shown up. There was a deep growl that punctured the air, before a large wooden paw stepped out of the shadows. It was huge, much bigger than the book let on. Walking on all four legs made it look like a house. Mabel's pretty sure that if it stood up on its hind legs, it would be as big as the Mystery Shack.

It's staring at Dipper, a vehement hatred deep in its eyes as it looks on the tiny human. Dipper, to his credit, doesn't seem phased much. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"You. You have stolen everything from me."

"You did it to yourself. There's no way you could've gone for more than a few years feeding off the people here."

"I had time. Many more memories to take, many more lives to ruin, but you had to steal it all away. The Chormina was there to protect you last time, but it is not here now."

"Alright, then. One free shot. I won't move, won't run, won't fight back. You get one free shot, and that's all you get."

The creature crouched down, its body vibrating with excitement. "You will not live to tell the tale."

It pounced, and would have landed right on Dipper if the trap had not sprung. It was incredible watching all the hidden ropes fly, snapping out in a flash and wrapping the Pinstile in a steel net. It roared as it was lifted off the ground, claws tangled in the metal strands.

"No! You lied to me!"

"No I didn't. I said I wouldn't move. I never said anything about the trap. You've hurt a lot of people. You won't hurt anyone else." Dipper stood up, sliding his hands in his coat pockets.

"Well, that's a face I'd rather not remember. Hello, old acquaintance." Ford stood up from the bush, walking closer to the net. Mabel followed closely, not wanting to be by herself if anything did happen.

"I should have known you'd still be kicking. With the way the kid chased after me, there was no way he'd let you die. So, what will you do now? Kill me? Lock me away? Banish me again with some of your stolen magic?"

"One, it's not stolen." Dipper rolled his eyes.

"You are human scum using the Weirdness we were gifted."

"I've got a constellation on my forehead and he's got an extra finger on both hands. Not stolen. Two, there's plenty of ways to get your food source without hunting humans down for sport . So yes, you are getting locked away. Actually, we have an old friend coming to get you. Ever heard of the Therapism?"

The Pinstile growled. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would. They do a lot of good for a lot of creatures. Those that can't be trusted to be rehabilitated in their old bodies have the chance to reincarnate into something new. As for you, I think you'd make a really nice moth."

A portal boomed to life a few feet away as a tall woman stepped out. She was wrapped in a dark robe with a large gem around her neck and a belt with several more crystals attached. Of course, the most shocking and obvious thing about her was her seven eyes.

Stanford smiled. "Jheselbraum! It's been a long time." He held out his hand, which she shook.

"Yes, it has. But you'll be pleased to hear that Bill is still stuck in the Theraprism. I don't think he'll be getting out anytime soon. Now, is this the niece you keep telling me about?" She turned towards Mabel.

"Uh, hi."

"Yes, that's my niece Mabel. Dipper's sister."

"A pleasure. I've heard many good things about you." She walked closer to Mabel, holding out her hand for the human girl to shake.

"It's also a pleasure, uh..."

"Jheselbraum, but you can just call me Jhes. This is the Pinstile you wanted me to take?"

"Yes. He'll most likely need to be kept isolated for a while. He likes to hunt down the people he's chasing, such as me." Dipper pulled his sleeve off, revealing the still healing wound.

"I see. Well, the Theraprists will have a lot of fun with you. Until we meet again. Oh, for you, Dipper. I hear you're an avid botanist." Jheselbraum threw a bag at Dipper, which he caught with ease.

The portal opened again, and Jheselbraum disappeared with the Pinstile. Grunkle Ford chuckled softly. "Always a talker, that one."

"What?"

"She's called Jheselbraum the Unanswering. She'll leave most of your questions unanswered. But she's incredibly smart and always there when we need to call her. Now, I say we all go home and enjoy a job well done."

"Couldn't agree more." Dipper pocketed the small bag.

"That's it? Dipper gets poisoned for about a week, we finally catch the thing that nearly killed you however long ago, send it away, and all you two want to do is go back to the shack?!" Mabel cried out.

"Yeah. Oh, and we break into Stan's stash of liquor." Dipper grinned.

Mabel's jaw dropped. Her brother, a rule follower, drank underage?

Dipper and Ford just laughed.