Who is the Culprit? BONUS SCENE

*IMPORTANT!!! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ WHO IS THE CULPRIT, DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE READ IT!!!*

I tossed a few cracked eggs onto the heated skillet and let them sizzle. Bubbles skipped and skimmed across the pan. Immediately, the smell of eggs wafted through the kitchen. It wouldn't be long before Mabel and Dipper came down begging for their breakfast.

Right on cue, the two kids stumbled down the stairs and tripped towards the kitchen. Mabel said nothing as she jumped onto the chair. She was followed a little more slowly by Dipper. I eyed his missing right arm. Swallowing a disturbed grunt, I slipped an oven mitt onto my arm.

What did that kid do to his arm? I wondered to myself. I lifted the skillet off of the stove top and turned the oven off. I headed towards the table, tossing it on the table in between Mabel and Dipper. I turned my back, letting the kids help themselves.

As I began to walk away, a cold chill hit my spine and rippled up each vertebrae. The hair on the back of my neck rose. I turned around to see that Dipper was looking at me. The kid's eyes freaked me out. They were like cat's eyes, but they seemed more...evil. That kid's history was as mysterious as Mabel's pig. Shaking Dipper's stare off, I headed off towards my room.

"Make sure you guys get some work done in the shack before you go off catching lizards or whatever kids do these days," I called to them as I headed up the stairs. "I don't want to end up finding this place a mess."

***

I buttoned up my suit and adjusted the sleeves and collar. Fixing the tie, I headed out of my room and down the stairs. The kids were not in the kitchen. They had left the skillet on the table. Grumbling, I lifted the skillet and threw it in the sink.


Because the was so hard to do, I thought agitatedly.

I headed towards the shack. I stepped through the door and looked to see Wendy and Soos in their normal positions. Mabel and Dipper were norwhere in sight. I looked out the window to see if they were outside. While I was there, I turned the sign, letting everyone know that the Mystery Shack was now open.

"You seen the kids?" I asked Wendy and Soos.

"Not yet," Wendy answered. "They're probably still getting ready."

As if Wendy had called them, the kids entered the Shack. With everyone there, we were ready to start the day. Right on cue, the bus rolled up. Tourists flooded from the bus, filling the quiet air with murmurs and chatter. As they headed towards the entrance to the Mystery Shack, I opened the door and stood in the entrance. i addressed the tourists by opening my arms and presenting the Shack to them.

"Welcome to the Mystery Shack! Come in and experience thrills and mysteries never before seen by the human eye!" I welcomed.

***

The rest of the day was a blur, almost like every day. I undid my tie and my suit. I changed the sign so that it said 'closed. Soos and Wendy left the Shack and headed back home. The kids were nowhere to be seen.

A sudden memory flashed through my head of me putting a code into the vending machine and entering a hidden passageway. The memory suddenly disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. I glanced towards the vending machine. That vending machine had been out of order for as long as I could remember. How could it have a hidden passageway behind it?

Checking around to make sure no one else was in the room, I walked over to the vending machine and input the code I could remember seeing in the strange memory. To my surprise, the machine moved aside to reveal a narrow hallway. Suddenly, everything clicked in my head. This world was different. Dipper had two arms, and Gravity Falls really did host mysteries and monsters.

The journal. I needed to find Dipper's journal. If whatever had changed the world found out that i remembered everything, they would be hasty to get rid of me. I wanted to tell the kids about my bunker before I would possibly be killed. Or at least I wanted to try. I quickly rummaged through the cupboards and pulled out a quill and a bottle of invisible ink. With those, I hurried up to the attic.

I checked the room to make sure the kids weren't there. Everything was clear. I scurried to Dipper's bed and lifted his pillow. To my luck, his journal was there. I opened the journal to a blank page, dipped the quill in the ink, and started to scrawl a message on it. When I finished the message, I closed the journal and put it back under Dipper's pillow.

I was about to stand up and leave the room when a chilling laugh echoed through it. My blood froze. I knew that laugh. I hoped I was just hearing things and the laugh didn't belong to who I thought it might be. I felt wind whip at my suit collar. A light formed in the middle of the room. The light exploded, and a figure formed in the middle of it. When the light disappeared, the silhouetted figure revealed itself to be Bill Cipher disguised as Dipper.

"I should have known it was you as soon as I saw that arm and those eyes," I growled, standing up and glaring at Bill.

"My, my, aren't you perceptive," Bill taunted. "It's a real surprise you didn't find out sooner."

I clenched my fists angrily. Bill lowered himself until he was only a few inches from the ground. He was now eye level. I didn't flinch as Bill smiled with delight. I only moved to block his path to Dipper's journal.

"Mind telling me what you're doing in here?" He asked. He snapped his fingers and the journal flung into Bill's hands, almost hitting me in the process. " It couldn't be for this, could it?"

"Why are you here, Bill?" I challenged, trying to strategize a way to get the journal out of Bill's hands.

"A stroll through the forest, perhaps. Maybe to tour the Mystery Shack," Bill answered. "Hey! That's a good idea! Let's tour the Mystery Shack! Would you mind showing me around? Might I suggest...your secret bunker?"

"I won't show you anything!" I snarled.

"Then how about...you just give me the journals?" Bill responded.

"Never!" I barked through gritted teeth.

"Then maybe we'll just have to bargain..." Bill decided ominously. "How about...the three journals and the code to the bunker, or those kid's lives."

"Over my dead body," I spat.

"Ooh..! That can be arranged!" Bill laughed. I glared at him. I could see right through his ruse. He was trying to make a good deal to hide the fact that he was just going to do what he wanted anyway. I had seen him do it before.

"Look...I can't give you the code to the bunker, but I will give you the journals," I started. Bill smiled and opened his mouth. I held my finger up and glared at him, letting him know I wasn't done talking. "If...you don't kill the kids."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Bill promised. I could sense the joy and the falseness in his voice. He wasn't fooling or manipulating anyone, especially me.

"I'm warning you Bill. Even my death won't be the end of me," I warned in a dangerous voice.

Bill froze and stared at me for a second before bursting into a cacophonous laugh. "I like you. You're not as naive as the rest of your family." I felt my finger twitch. "Fine...a deal's a deal. I won't kill those kids." He held out his arm, opening it for me to shake. I reached forward, locking my hand with his. Blue flames enveloped our hands, and everything shook around us.

"But that doesn't mean the same won't go for you!" I whipped my gaze to Bill, but he had disappeared. "Bring those journals and put them on this bed before eight tonight." The voice was just an echo through my mind. Bill had better keep his promise.

I walked down the stairs and back towards the Mystery Shack. That whole ordeal with Bill had given me a headache. Rubbing my head wearily, I stopped as I made it to the vending machine. Was I really going to do this? I looked around, making sure Bill was not hiding somewhere in the room.

"I'm not kidding, Bill," I called into the empty room. "If you're in here, you won't see the end of it!"

No response. I narrowed my eyes and turned towards the vending machine. Covering the keypad as best as I could, I entered the code, stepped into the hallway, and quickly slammed the door shut behind me. I hurried down the hallway to the elevator. I entered the code and came down the elevator. When then door came to a stop with a metallic bang, I hurried to grab the first two journals, and then came back up the elevator. When I made it to the vending machine door, I opened it quickly and slammed it shut behind me. Holding a deep breath, I looked at the first two journals clenched in each hand. I was gripping them so tight that my knuckles were white. Were those kids really worth the hard work I was sacrificing? I hesitated. I couldn't just give up the journals like that, could I? But I made a promise to protect those kids. I was so lost in thought that I forgot to release the breath I'd been holding. I let the breath go and started heading towards the attic. If Dipper and Mabel got my message, then this would not be a sacrifice. If they didn't get it...I didn't want to think about the consequences.

I made it to the attic and headed towards Dipper's bed. I took one last look at the journals before placing them gingerly on the bed. I hesitated for a moment, finding it difficult to let the journals go. I knew that it would be eight o' clock soon. I needed to make my decision. The journals and precious, lifelong research, or the two kids I loved dearly?

A clocked ticked somewhere in the distance, indicating that it was eight o' clock. I quickly took my hands off the journals and ran out the attic. i didn't want to be there when Bill came. I kept on telling myself constantly that I had made the right choice. Those kids were more precious than any research. But an uncomfortable pit in my stomach kept telling me that I should have kept the journals. Swallowing my doubt, I continued down the stairs.

Once I was down the stairs, I headed towards the kitchen. I opened the fridge. There was a wine glass in the fridge that was filled with a clear, almost-reddish liquid. I couldn't recall ever owning a wine glass, but everything that had happened today made me too tired to care. I took the glass and headed for the TV room. I threw myself onto the plush chair and finally relaxed. I wondered what Bill was going to do to me now that I knew what he was doing.

I took a sip of the drink and immediately tasted something strange. I quickly spat the drink out. I had tasted poison. I needed to treat this fast. Dropping the glass and hearing it crack on the ground, I moved to stand up and head for the kitchen. Before I could even get to my feet, my vision blurred and an unbearable pain split through my skull. I crashed to the floor, sending fiery pain up my legs and my head. I felt my glasses bounce off my face and crack as they made contact with the floor. Saliva formed at the side of my lips, and I started to feel my body shut down as the poison took effect.

It's up to those kids now. I know they can do it, I thought as the pain faded and my vision faded to black.