A Demon of the Sea - Gravity Falls

Chapter 16

The world was slowly coming back into focus. Dipper was flat on his back, staring at a wooden ceiling. He cringed as recognized a sharp pain in his head, reaching up to it and clutching it immediately as though that would make it feel any better. He tried siting up, but that only intensified his dizziness and the pounding in his cranium. He gave up and laid his head back down as slowly as possible.
Just then, he heard someone say, "He's awake!" It sounded muffled for some reason, and he couldn't recognize it at first. But as soon as he saw her face, the world came back into clear focus. "Mabel!" he said hoarsely, trying to lift his head up. He was immediately reminded of the pounding in his head and shrank back down. She kneeled over him, clearly restraining herself from pulling him into a hug.
It was then that he recognized the odd and concerning mix of relief and horror in her eyes. "M-mabel? What's wrong?" he asked, confused. He succeeded in sitting up slightly against a wall of metal bars and looked down at himself. He was covered in bloody bandages all down his arms and across his unclothed chest and mid-section. He looked into her eyes again. They were the eyes of a sibling that could've lost a brother so many times in the past... However long he was out and during the duel. He almost made it worse for her than Stan had it when Ford went missing; with them, at least the hope was alive that he was surviving somewhere, but Dipper... He could've just died: a permanent end, to both him and to hope for his twin. His eyes became misty, but he snapped himself out of it. I need to show her I'm ok.
"What, this?" he said lightly, gesturing to his bandages, "This is nothing. Sure, my head hurts like hell, but it's nothing I haven't dealt with wrestling you!" She smiled, tears welling up, as she lightly punched him in the arm. "Don't go scaring me like that, Dipping Sauce!" she said, voice wavering slightly. She carefully scooped him into a warm embrace. He winced a little at the pain, but kept it hidden as he hugged her back.
      "Wait, Dipper's awake?" said a familiar voice, which seemed a bit concerned as well. It was Bill; he didn't even pay attention to the fact that he didn't use Dipper's 'pirate name'. He was in a cell next to them, clinging to the bars separating him from the twins. The pounding in Dipper's head had subsided enough for him to get to his knees and turn to face him. Neither man could hide the relief in their eyes at seeing each other alive. Dipper's hand slowly reached out to the demon's face, to make sure it was real, that he wasn't dreaming or seeing things. The warm, soft touch of his cheek reassured him that it was. Bill held the hand on his cheek and smiled. He blushed a bit, then looked away bashfully. He was both too stubborn to admit he liked it, or push the brunette away. Dipper saw through this and smiled before kissing his captain's other cheek.
Meanwhile, Mabel was clutching her mouth, trying to hold back excited squeals at the adorableness. Dipper chuckled and Bill glanced at him, annoyed. "Hey, if you're gonna embarrass me in front of your sister, I'm gonna do it tenfold!" he retaliated, grabbing Dipper's shirt through the bars and pulling him into a deep kiss. The brunette's eyes widened and his cheeks turned crimson. "Bill!" he exclaimed quietly when they pulled away, covering his mouth in disbelief.
        "Uhh, Captain Cipher? Didn't you say we were gonna escape as soon as he woke up?" Soos said awkwardly from the cell to the opposite side of Mabel and Dipper's cell. Red was in the one next to that, laughing. They were here the whole time?! Dipper thought, distressed at how much they must've seen just now...
       "Ah, yes of course!" said Bill, expression and demeanor changing in a flash as though he remembered something obvious. Then it dawned on Dipper: "Wait a second, how did you escape those blessed ropes or whatever, anyway?" he asked. Bill wrapped his arm around him through the bars and whispered in his ear cheerfully, "Well, between you and me, I'm not that kind of demon. I'm far more powerful! From a different dimension, actually! So yeah, those ropes did very little in containing me. I just had to make it look like they did." Dipper nodded to signal he understood, though he didn't, really, and was justifiably more afraid of him than ever. What exactly do I see in him again? He wondered sarcastically to himself. He really is a mystery.
Suddenly, Bill froze, his face darkening. "Someone's coming down! Escape delayed until further notice!" he said quickly. The ropes around him, which were coated in blue flames, floated around him and tying tightly by themselves.
      Dipper suddenly felt panicked. He still didn't know how long he was out! It couldn't possibly be tomorrow already, could it? He began hyperventilating. He realized in horror how unprepared he was to die, now that they had a chance. Mabel grabbed his hand, but whether it was to calm him or herself was unclear to both twins.
      A moment later, a man appeared with a tray full of bowls of... Hopefully that was oatmeal. "Food. Enjoy your last meal," he said wickedly. He kicked each person's food into their respective cages, purposefully knocking Bill's over in the process. Dipper glared at him as he walked away, spitting in his direction once he was out of earshot. After one sniff of the food, they all decided it wasn't worth it to eat yet, and just waited until they escaped.
"Hey, how long was I out, anyway?" Dipper asked. "About three hours. The sun is going to set soon, so we'd better hurry," said Bill, magically untying the ropes again. Soos was already over to the twins' cage by the time they looked up, the same pin as when they first broke into the mansion in hand. Soon enough, they were all out of the frying pan, but not out of the fire.
"If it was that easy, were you all just waiting for me to wake up to escape?" Dipper asked Bill quietly as they snuck to the surface once again. "You got it!" he replied. The brunette was a little reluctant to ask this, but he did anyway, "So... What if I didn't wake up?" Bill gave him a quick glance, as if he didn't even want to have considered that possibility. "I guess we'd have never left! Or at the very least, I wouldn't have," he said that last part almost inaudibly. Dipper's heart was pounding, and not from the running. He wanted so desperately to pull Cipher into a warm embrace, but he knew they didn't have the time.
Both Dipper and Mabel somehow ended up at the back of the group. She tugged on his sleeve and whispered to him, "Bro, let's escape now while we can! They'll just think we went a different route and plan on regrouping!" His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. That's right, he had almost forgotten, and how blissful that had been. Now that they were going to survive this, the twins needed to go home. But now that it came down to it, he didn't know if he could anymore. Nonetheless, they turned down a different corridor than the three others in front of them.
He was extremely reluctant and hesitant as they walked further and farther from the life he was beginning to accept, and almost actually liked (mostly because Bill was in it). "Isn't there some way we can stay with everyone? Captain Cipher will protect us!" he argued, striving to keep back a flood of tears. She sighed and said, "Dipper, do we really have to go through this again? I know you love him, but... He can't protect us forever. We have to go home before we die in some freak accident, or before we're captured for real." He hung his head, knowing all that too well. He still couldn't accept this, it can't be real.
"Pine Tree?" said an all-too-familiar voice behind them. He looked back in horror too see his love looking utterly betrayed and heartbroken. "Pine Tree, we're going this way, ya know," he said, expecting Dipper to follow, but at the same time, knowing he wouldn't. They all stopped in their tracks. Why did he have to come? Why does he have to find out like this? It's just going to make everything 200% harder! He thought, distressed to the high heavens.
      "I... I can't stay forever, Bill," he said, doing his best to keep his voice from wavering, "I have to go home." Bill's face darkened a bit. Mabel was slowly backing away, to give them some space. "But, Pine Tree, you're my first mate! You can't just leave me... I've never let anyone just leave!" he said, still not able to believe that Dipper would even want to go. The brunette couldn't keep it back any longer, and large tears fell onto the ground. "Please, don't make this harder than it already is," he responded in little more than a faint whisper.
      (Bill POV) Something happened in Bill's heart at that moment. Dipper didn't want to leave, he was even trying hard not to stay! And somewhere deep down, he knew Dipper would die some untimely death if he were to stay by his side for long enough, and he couldn't let that happen. At least at his own home, with Stan, Ford, and even Mabel protecting him, he would be safe.
       (Dipper POV) "Ok," Bill said, almost matter-of-factly. Dipper was confused. He's actually letting me go? "I said ok! Now leave before I change my mind!" he snapped, turning away and clenching his fists. More tears fell from Dipper's eyes. He's actually letting me chose! Him, Captain Bill Cipher, Demon of the North Seas, is letting me go by my own free will!
        (Bill) Pine Tree took a deep breath before saying, "Bill, I have to say this out loud, in case... In case I never get to do it again... I love you, ok?! I'm insane for you and I don't want to leave but, I have to." Bill's head perked up. Pine Tree... Truly loves me? He was never expecting this. He's heard Pine Tree say it in his head, but never before has he ever said it out loud. Never before has anyone said that to me, in all my infinite years, and especially not someone as perfect as him, Bill thought to himself. He had always expected Dipper to fight against it, and never actually say it, but there he was, blushing like an idiot and trembling where he stood. He finally admits it to my face, and he has to leave! I want to keep him by my side forever, grant him immortality, and maybe even make him my husband someday, but I know he has to go... "Curse this human heart for feeling things!" said Bill, clutching his chest. He stared at the ground and used all of his energy to stop tears from falling from his own eyes.
Suddenly, Dipper ran into him, nearly knocking him over with a hug. He clung to Bill desperately, as though he never wanted to let go. Bill slowly wrapped his arms around him, holding him as though he were the most precious jewel in the world, more precious than gold. To Bill, he was. Dipper buried his face in the demon's chest, and Bill kissed his beautiful, messy, chestnut hair, one last time. Ever so slowly, they forced themselves to pull apart, and sealed their goodbye in a fleeting kiss. Dipper turned, keeping his focus on the ground, as he ran down the corridor with his sister.
      (Dipper) "Bill, wait," said the one person none of them were ever expecting: Mabel. She turned to her twin and looked straight into his eyes. "I can't do this to you, Dipper. I see the way you two look at each other, and... I can't let you leave him. You should escape together," she said, doing her best to smile for her brother. His eyes widened. "Wait, r-really? You would do that for me? But, what about you?" he replied, wondering if he heard her right. She shrugged. "I'll be ok, but this means you have to come and visit me, and not after thirty years!" she said lightly. He looked to Bill to see if it was ok. "It's probably not too safe for you to come out all this way," he admitted, "You're my first mate, and people will know you by face now." His heart dropped, but Mabel wasn't phased. "Well then, since you can't visit me, I guess I'll have to visit you! That's cool, right?" she asked. Bill pondered this, then grinned. "Any time we're nearby! You're still an official member of my crew, Shooting Star, remember? Just don't go telling people about it, ok?" he replied. Her eyes lit up and she even hugged him breifly.
Then, she turned to her twin, and for once, the sociable one was at a loss for words. "Well, I guess we won't be seeing each other for a while..." she said awkwardly, "At least this time you get this hunk protecting you." Dipper blushed and laughed nervously. "You'd better look after this goofball!" she warned Bill, then added a smile at the end. "Don't have to tell me twice!" he replied, looking all up and down Dipper's body and enjoying the view. "Bill!" the brunette snapped, his cheeks somehow managing to get more red. Mabel chuckled and dragged her brother into one last bear-hug that nearly crushed him. "I'll see you again soon. I promise," said Dipper. His eyes moistened more than he liked to admit. "Now get out of here before we all get caught, ya knuckleheads!" she said as she ran around a corner and out of sight.
After a careful maneuvering around the mansion, they were back at the surface and running into the woods. (Bill and Dipper told Red and Soos that Mabel already made it out, but decided to go her separate ways).

Dipper was on the ship once again, atop the crow's nest. As the sun set on the horizon in a display of orange, pink, and red-ish light, Dipper looked back on the town he once called home. A sleepy looking town on the outside, but full of secrets on the inside, a mystery to unravel for those willing to adventure. But Dipper had found his own adventure, and it would take him far away from his place of origin, from the place and the people that had been his whole life. Somehow, he couldn't regret choosing to continue his life with the man he loved, his one and only true captain, who he would follow to the ends of the Earth. But I suppose love is the greatest mystery of all.

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AN: Hey guys! Thanks so much for sticking it out till the end! I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as I did writing it! (*cough cough I regret nothing*) ;3 Anyway, here's a pic I drew of Mabel, Dipper, and Bill as a sort of parting gift ^_^