What You Don't Know Can't Hurt You

7

"Start talking, Mason." Jill said softly. "When did this all start?"

Mason shrugged. "A month after you left? I think?" He turned to Bill. "About the time I really started looking for you."

"Do you know what causes it?"

"Anger. Extreme anger. And sadness."

"Now, what happened earlier, in the forrest?"

"I... I don't really know. Mabel and I had a fight, I ran into the woods behind the Mystery Shack, I screamed, and... the trees were all uprooted. They fell over."

Bill stared. "They fell over?"

"That's what I said. I turned around and Allen was behind me. That's when he brought me here."

The triplets stared at each other for a moment, then back at Mason. Will was the one who spoke up. "And this has been going on for two years?"

"About, yeah."

Jill shook her head. "Mason, you're not going back to Gravity Falls."

Mason's eyes were wide. "What? No, I have to-"

"Not at this point of your demonic development." She glared at Bill. "This is exactly what I meant when I said we shouldn't have left." She took Mason's arms, standing him up. "Come on. I'll show you to your room."

He pulled himself out of Jill's grasp. "I can't just up and leave Gravity Falls. What about Stan and Ford? What about Mabel?"

"He has a point." Bill muttered. "He can't just disappear. Mabel and the Stan twins would start a manhunt."

Jill sighed. "Fine. I'll go tell them-"

"Don't you dare." Mason stepped forward. "She May be your soulmate, but she's my twin sister. I'm going back to get her." He looked at Will. "You're coming with me."

"What about me?" Bill and Jill asked at the same time.

"If you go, she'll start a fight, and I'll never come back."

"We're not fighting over this anymore." Will spoke up. "Let's go, Mason. You two can stay and prepare their rooms."

Bill and Jill sighed, speaking simultaneously again. "Fine, you win."

Will took one of Mason's hands, and suddenly they were back in the woods of Gravity Falls. Will looked around, his eyes wide. "Woah. You weren't lying."

"I told you. Now come on, Mabel's probably been looking for me."

The two raced up to the Mystery Shack. Will disappeared once they got close, and Mason made his way inside, walking back up to his attic bedroom.

He opened the door and saw Mabel curled up on her bed, crying into her knees. She lifted her head and jumped up. "Dipper! I'm so, so sorry, I didn't mean it! Please don't be mad at me-"

"Pack your bags. We're leaving."

Mabel stared. "What? But we just got here, why're we going back home now?"

"We're not going home." Mason quickly put together his things, which wasn't much- he hadn't bothered to unpack yet.

"Then where?"

Will appeared in the doorway of the room. "I think I know."

Mabel stared at him, then back at Mason. "What happened..? Where did he come from?"

"We'll explain later." Mason said quickly. "Hurry up, Mabel, we have to go."

"Okay, okay, I'm going." She quickly put her bags back together, then joined Mason and Will in the center of the room.

"When we get back, please don't start any fights." Will stated. "We have more pressing matters than yelling at us, demanding to know why we left."

"I do want to know, though." Mabel muttered.

"I understand, but don't ask until later, when things have calmed a little bit. Okay?"

"Okay."

Will took their hands, and they appeared back in Jill's bedroom. Bill and Jill were waiting for them, whispering to each other. Jill looked at the three and approached them. "Mason, come with me, now." Mason nodded, not saying anything, and followed her out of the room.

Mabel looked at Will. "Now what's going on?"

"Mason is turning into a dream demon." Bill answered, causing Mabel to turn and look at him. "His powers are going out of control. He needs help."

Mabel glared at him. "I didn't ask you."

"Mabel, please." Will begged. "Don't start a fight."

"I'm sorry, Will, but I need to know. Why did you leave?"

"Mabel, please-"

"No. Bill's going to answer me and he's going to answer me now."

Bill sighed. "Mabel, not right now-"

"Answer me, Bill. Now."

"Fine. I was scared, okay?"

"Scared of what? A relationship? Because everyone is."

"No. I wanted to be in a relationship with Mason. But he was changing. I saw myself in him, and it scared me. I didn't want him to be like that- like me. Leaving was the only solution I had."

"Dipper may have changed, but he didn't become like you. If anything, Dipper became more like himself. So, that's not a good excuse. Try again."

"Mabel, stop." Will forced. "Please. We're not here to fight, we're here to help Mason."

Mabel quickly turned to him, her eyes filled with worry. "What's wrong with him?"

"His powers are growing out of control." Will put it simply. "He's beginning to turn."

"'Turn'?" Mabel echoed. "Turn into what?"

"When a dream demon like us completes the bond with a human," Bill explained, "that human slowly turns into a dream demon."

"Dipper's... changing?" Mabel almost whispered. "Does it hurt?"

Bill shook his head. "Not at all. They usually can't tell when they're changing physically. The powers themselves come naturally. No aspect of the transition is painful."

"Then why are we here? Why can't we stay in Gravity Falls while everything gets sorted out?"

"There's people in your world who will try and hunt Mason down because of his powers." Will said carefully. "And with them being out of control, they could happen at any time for whatever reason. It's safer for you two to stay here, where he can be helped by other dream demons who made the transition and are used to their powers, and where you aren't questioned by people who want to harness the power for themselves."

"Oh. Okay. I understand... I think."

Bill gestured for the two to follow him. "Come on, Mabel. I'll take you to your room- it's just down the hall."

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., two men were sitting at a computer, rewatching the film a drone took for the fifteenth time with wide eyes. They watched the screen again as suddenly, the trees around the boy were uprooted and fell to the side.

"How can that be?" One man asked. "It's not possible!"

"Looks like we'll have to take a trip to Gravity Falls, Oregon." The other put on a pair of sunglasses. "Let's go, Agent Trigger."