Author's note: Hi there! So sorry for the delay between chapters; it's been a rough couple of days. Here it is at last - chapter 2! Where things begin to go absolutely insane!
In the canon series, we got to see Stan's mindscape and Mabel's, as well as bits of Ford's, but not Dipper's. So in this fanfic, starting with this chapter, we get to explore what I imagine Dipper's mindscape would be like! 100 points to your house if you can name either what the overall structure of Dipper's mindscape is referencing or another small reference hidden somewhere else in that scene. Extra if you can name both! xD
I couldn't have done this alone, so please, go follow my coauthor, @ichinartsu! Kaylee's a wonderful friend, my best friend in the world. He's a talented artist with a love of memes and a quality blog. You won't regret it. uwu
Thank you for reading, Kaylee and I hope you enjoy, and we'll see you in chapter 3!
It had been nearly an hour since Stan left, and with him absent for the time being, all was quieter than usual in the Shack. Mabel was upstairs in the attic, sitting on her bed knitting and just keeping Dipper company. Dipper had been trying to read, but his head had begun throbbing, so he put the book aside. He turned over toward Mabel's side of the room and coughed before inquiring, "What're you doin'?"
"Knitting another sweater." She smiled and held up what she had so far. "This one's gonna be really sparkly."
Dipper smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Nice job there..." He was then cut off when he sneezed. "...Mabel." He blew his nose and groaned in frustration. "Okay...think I'm gonna try to go back to sleep for a bit. Key word here is try. My head says yeah, but my entire respiratory system says no." That, and a small part of him was still afraid to go to sleep, but he refused to admit that, to himself or to Mabel. He pulled his blankets up over his shoulders. "Thanks for hanging out with me, though."
"No prob, Bob. I'll still be here if you need something."
Dipper tucked himself down under the blankets. He sort of drifted in and out of sleep at first, but soon, he found himself having a rather odd dream...
All was hazy for a second or two, but Dipper soon found himself...in a library. At first, he thought that he had woken up in the lobby of the little library downtown, for that was what the first floor seemed to resemble. As he looked around, however, he noticed just how expansive this place was. A plethora of floors and the staircases leading to them seemed to spiral infinitely upward. Books of all shapes and sizes filled the shelves, but the sections weren't labeled by genre...
He soon came to the realization that this was no normal library. It was a place he imagined long ago, as a small child...his 'mind library', the place where he stored everything. Every face he had ever known, every place he had ever been, and everything he had ever learned.
"...Huh. Weird. How long has it been since I've thought of this place? 4th grade, maybe 5th? And I don't think I've ever...dreamt of it before..." He shrugged. "Oh, well. Maybe this is an opportunity for me to sort of...choose my own dream. Cool! Sure beats having another nightmare..."
After exploring the lobby briefly, he made his way up to the second floor and slowly browsed through the different sub-sections there. Each book he cracked open sprang to life, just as the collectible cards in wizard-school novels did. The pictures and text replayed his memories as if they were miniature movies. He found everything from algebra formulas to life lessons to...BABBA song lyrics...
Dipper quickly shut that book before music began to play and laughed nervously. "Yeah, no, don't...need that one right now." The last thing he wanted was to end up singing in his sleep. If Mabel overheard, he knew he'd never hear the end of it.
He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Now let's see...what has the potential to kickstart a really cool dream?"
Just as the rather large "mythology" section caught his fancy, suddenly...the lights in the library went out. In a split second, all was blanketed in foreboding darkness.
"...Whaaaat...?" Dipper was thoroughly confused...and a little weirded out. Upon remembering that he was dreaming, he thought up a lantern, and boom, there it was in his hand. He struck a match against his shirt and lit the candle inside.
Just as he did, he heard something off in the distance...a sound too faint to be heard clearly, but a sound that gave him a sense of deja vu all the same. Then, he could have sworn that he saw a figure pop up out of the corner of his eye...and vanish as quickly as it came.
He was scared now.
Dipper tiptoed further and further into the library, letting the glow of the lantern be his guide. "Is...somebody in here?" he called out quietly.
Nobody answered.
He laughed lightly, trying not to let his nerves get the best of him. "Dipper...seriously? Of course nobody's gonna answer. This is your OWN MIND, man. Nobody else is in here," he told himself.
But then, he remembered a...certain someone. "...U-unless..."
All of a sudden, giant flames BURST out of the lantern.
"AAH!"
As he dropped the lantern to the floor and it shattered, evil laughter - oddly familiar laughter - began to echo throughout each and every inch of the library. The flames rose higher and higher, taller than ten Dippers. And what then materialized out of the rising flames...sent shivers down Dipper's spine...
Back in the regular world...Mabel was unaware of what was going on at first. But suddenly, Dipper, asleep in his bed, began to moan and cry out in his sleep.
Mabel heard and turned her head. "Dipper?"
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
She got up and walked over to her twin. When she put a hand on his head, she became quite worried. He was still burning up, but his fever felt even worse than before. "H-hey, Dipper...wake up," she said nervously as she shook him a little.
Dipper, shivering violently beneath his blankets and coughing in his sleep, didn't respond. "N-no...don't..." he managed to mumble out. He was sounding worse by the minute.
Suddenly, the fairy lights hanging above Mabel's bed eerily began to flicker. A chilling wind swept through the room, as if someone had left the door open in January.
Mabel shivered from the sudden cold. She got even more worried from the feeling that all of this was connected. "Dipper...it's okay! I'm right here!" she reassured him quietly. She held his hand, hoping that would make him feel safer.
I was going to try and write something today, but I never got around to it. I will try to write tomorrow, and if nothing goes up I give you full access to tare me to shreds. I will try to write this week also, but I may not be able to depending on how the week works out.
Once again, I am so sorry! I love you to the furthest star and back,
Update! I'm starting a CNA course in two weeks which I'm pretty sure I'll pass. Its a month long which will be gruelling and possibly might kill me but it could be worse. Bambi's moving out for a semester so I won't be able to be with him for the next four months starting the 22nd.
Hey everyone! Thanks to those of you who submitted bonus round materials! At this time, we'd like to announce that main round two had been postponed until the first week of December! We realize how busy this time of year is for everyone (including us on team Olympus) and really appreciate all the effort you've all put into this! To those of you who have dropped: I'm sorry this year didn't work out for you. If things clear up, you are welcome to rejoin the competition at any point in any capacity! Thanks for all your work and dedication! For those in the US- have a good Thanksgiving!
I have no friends. Seriously. Alls I want sis someone to talk to or to message. For goodness sakes we can talk about weather for all I care. I just want somebody to want to talk to me. To be my friend. For once.
