Return to Falls

Chapter 31

Hundreds of miles away on the coldest peak of the Colorado Mountains temporarily housed Dipper Cipher. For a solid two months, he'd been meditating on the mountain's peak, channeling cosmic energy from all regions of the universe. Reality around him distorted as his power grew. What looked like heat waves were the strings of time and space gaining tangible form.

Under normal biological circumstances, Dipper's body would've broken down and died due to the lack of food and water. But, since he and Bill were one being living off of one another there was no need for either. The basic necessities of life didn't apply to Dipper's body as long as Bill remained fused with his DNA.

No animal within a three-mile radius dared get close to the supernatural being that trespassed on their land. Dipper didn't pay any mind to them and the creatures still sensed hostility unparalleled in this world.

As soon as the sunlight passed over him, Dipper opened his eyes. Thunder roared overhead despite there being no clouds.

"Well now", he said with a combined voice, "I think that's enough. What'd you think, Pines?" Dipper's half of their consciousness came to the forefront. Their voices remained the same, however. "Yes. Do you feel that? This chilling feeling?" Bill's conscience returned, "I was about to say. . . Why is there so much energy coming from Gravity Falls?" A ball of fire appeared in front of him. Within the concentrated energy, an image of Gravity Falls appeared showing what everyone was doing. "Let's see what our friends are up to."

The image in the fire showed Dipper's friends and family gathered in the Shack, all of their attention on Mabel.

"What're they doing?"

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Mabel silently finished her sweet cup of coffee. The freshly brewed smell that lingered in the air gave her a comforted feeling. Her shoulders relaxed. It didn't dawn on her how much she missed being able to spend early mornings on the weekend just talking with her family, holding a hot cup of coffee or tea in her hands, allowing for the steam to gently brush against her face. She wanted to savor this moment with the people around her, but she knew as well as any of them that that was a luxury she couldn't afford.

Ford brought food to the table so Mabel could get something in her stomach while she continued with the story.

"We started school again shortly after returning from Gravity Falls. It wasn't until a few days in did I start to notice something different about him. Usually during math class, he would constantly ask to go to the bathroom or the nurse whenever things like angles, shapes, and Greek symbols were brought up. His face would turn pale and before I knew it, he would duck out of the classroom and not return until the end. There were several times he ended up in detention because they accused him of skipping class.

"I didn't know why he was acting that way until one day, during a birthday party, he retreated to his room. I followed him to see if he was okay, and. . .that's when I heard him throwing up and panicking. I heard him mumbling to himself about how we defeated Bill and he was dead and nothing was bringing him back. . . That's when I realized he was still suffering from what happened here."

"PTSD?" Ford asked, carefully listening to Mabel's words.

She nodded in response. "I wanted to say something, but I knew he wouldn't admit it to me. Knowing Dipper, he would've been too proud to admit he needed help. Instead of telling anyone, I did what I could to help him from the background. I carefully monitored everything around us when we were together. If something I thought could trigger a memory of Bill, I distracted him."

Everyone sat in silence. Nobody could decide if they were surprised at this revelation or if it was something they were waiting for confirmation. It was ridiculous to assume that Dipper walked away from Weirdmageddon unaffected mentally. War drastically changes even the toughest of men. Dipper was a child when he fought in a war for the universe, and against a demon, no less. The weight of not only his life, but the lives of his friends, family, and the world was on his shoulders. The fact that he walked away with only PTSD was a miracle unto itself.