OPEN } what if i'm far from home? oh brother i will hear you call

[krmvgivv]

Who: Dipper and OPEN
Where: His rooms, around the mansion and grounds, the caves
When: 6/8 and the week after
Rating: Probably no more than PG
Summary: Mabel is gone. Dipper, of course, takes the loss totally reasonably and calmly. HAHAHA yeah, no, the opposite.
The Story:

6/8

[When Dipper first wakes up and sees that all of Mabel's stuff is gone, his first thought is that she's playing some kind of weird joke on him. It's a little crueler than he'd expect from her, but really, if your sister can't be cruel to you sometimes, who can be? He rolls his eyes.]

Very funny, Mabel. Come on out. [After all, her playing a mean trick on him is a lot less upsetting than the other possibility. That her stuff is gone because she is. Dipper's read enough that he knows what to look for. Missing stuff. Missing person. Not coming back any time soon.]

Mabel?

[He looks in the closet, under his bed, everywhere. Then he starts getting nervous, but he still doesn't want to admit it. He doesn't want to believe that his sister could be taken from him just like that. He rushes from his room.]

MABEL!

[For the rest of the day he can be found tearing his way through the mansion, searching everywhere. He knows, logically, how all the pieces fit together. He's always been smart. Good at puzzles. And this is an easy one. An easy puzzle that he refuses to accept the solution in front of him. There has to be more to it. She can't just be gone.

Evening finds him on the edge of the forest, a bag full of provisions on his back. There's only one place he hasn't looked. And he's not giving up. No matter what people have told him.]

6/9 - 6/11

[Mabel is gone.

Dipper had to admit it eventually. And thankfully he admitted it before going in the forest. But admitting it isn't the same as accepting it. In the days that follow, Dipper won't be approaching people with his usual cheer. He eats meals with his nose buried in a book, either his Journal or something he's taken from the library, something, anything, that might be useful.

He isn't sleeping much. His half empty room hurts too much. He could change it, make it just his room, but that would feel too much like giving up, and he won't do that.

So instead he spends his nights down in the caves, holding a flashlight and reading. Journal 3 might not have an answer for how to travel between different worlds, but surely somewhere in all the books on Wonderland he can find some answer.

This just can't be it.]

Comments

[krmvgivv]

[....it says a lot about how much this is affecting Dipper that it's taken him this long to put the pieces together. Normally he's more observant, more aware that if someone says something like "she's not on this floor" after leaving seconds ago, they either didn't actually look or have some kind of super power. That combined with the spandex costume, the mentions of running, the fact that he freaking blurs when he moves and Dipper definitely felt weird breezes and.... ]

Oh my god, you're a superhero.

[Give it up for the genius detective, everyone.]

[minimoff]

Yes! I am.

[ That exclamation comes very proudly. In fact, Tommy might even pose a little bit.

Doing good for its own sake was a worthwhile activity, but damn was it good to be recognized. ]

My name's Speed.

[krmvgivv]

That's... pretty on the dot, isn't it? [Not to insult your superhero name, buuuut he's kind of insulting your superhero name.] I'm Dipper.

[minimoff]

[ Hey now! ]

It tells you everything you need to know in one syllable.

[ Kids. ]

Anyway, hi, Dipper. Yes or no to the quick search?

[krmvgivv]

Uh... yes? [Dipper isn't sure how he feels about being run around by an actual superhero. Then he thinks about how cool Mabel would feel about it and he's still not sure how he feels about it.

Maybe they'll find her and he can tell her. He nods, more sure this time.] Yes.

[minimoff]

All right. Up on my shoulders, unless you want to be carried like a potato sack.

[ Tommy offers his hands, bending down so Dipper can climb aboard. ]

[krmvgivv]

Uh... [Dipper clambers on to him awkwardly. He's still small for a 12 year old, but big enough that it still feels awkward as he gets settled. Add to that the worries about his sister and he's having a lot of trouble appreciating the coolness of what he's about to do.]

...okay. Though I'm not sure if my eyes can move fast enough to process things at super speed. And won't wind and stuff be a factor?

[minimoff]

I don't know about processing stuff. Uh, just tell me if you can't? I'll try to go slower.

[ In fact, he's not sure anyone he's carried ever tried. Most of the time it is a "grab x out of danger" sort of situation, not an active participant. Besides Molly, but she was more having fun than anything.]

Wind's never bothered anyone before, though.

[ Luckily Tommy has some sort of aura that keeps people he carries from being torn to shreds. This makes sense. Because comics. ]

[krmvgivv]

Huh, interesting. I wonder why. [The analytical part of Dipper's mind, the one that's always thinking, questioning, deducing even when most of his brain is currently freaking out about his missing sister starts coming up with tests he could use to figure it out.]

Okay, well, let's do this. [He wraps his arms snugly over... Speed wow, he cannot use that name seriously... but over his head and tries not to think too hard about how the physics of this could possibly work.]

[minimoff]

[ It is best not to. Especially when Tommy kicks off and they are speeding down stairs, around startled mansion dwellers, over a confused dog, and bursting outside.

Grid patterns are how you conduct searches, right? Tommy remembers something about that in some Avengers handbook. Right. Time to make like a grid! ]

[krmvgivv]

[The major reason Dipper doesn't scream is that he's going too fast and he's not sure the sound would keep up and that's a disturbing enough thought that it keeps the noise inside, though there might be a bit of whimpering that escapes. It's just... it's just a lot faster than a person should go, and though Dipper would deny being scared with every fiber of his being, it's a little terrifying. He clings to Tommy's forehead as hard as he can and tries to remember to look around, but...

Well, honestly all he sees is blur.]

[minimoff]

[ Okay, whimpers are a bad thing. Tommy skids to a stop, tilting his head back as far as he can without knocking Dipper off his shoulders. ]

Are you okay up there?

[ He thought he had been going fairly slow. ]

[krmvgivv]

I'm fine! I'm great! [He reddens loosening his vice grip on the guy's face.] But I really don't think this is gonna help find Mabel.

[minimoff]

Damn.

[ That is disappointing. He crouches down to let Dipper off his shoulders. ]

I guess you can't see much, huh?

[ Good to know for future reference. ]

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper clambers off and spends a few seconds walking in a wobbly circle as he gets used to being on solid ground again. Then he adjusts his hat and glances back up at Tommy.]

Not really. But you should think about renting yourself out to theme parks.

[minimoff]

[ Tommy had to laugh. ]

Yeah? Guess that's another temp job idea.

[ He sobered, however, thinking of Dipper's sister. ]

I'll run ahead. See if I can't spot her.

[krmvgivv]

Yeah, you do that. [Dipper wraps his arms around himself, though, looking less than hopeful. Every moment he doesn't find her is another moment he's more worried that he won't find her. A moment he's worried that all his fears have come true and she's really gone.

And then... he's not sure what he'll do.]

[minimoff]

...hey.

[ The look on Dipper's face tugs at his heartstrings. Tommy is not much of a toucher, but in this case he will reach out and squeeze Dipper's shoulder. ]

Man, I know this sucks. But if she's not here, she's back in your universe, and she's doing fine.

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper pulls away, shooting a glare at the other guy. He's not much of a toucher either, and he's not in a mood for empty reassurances.] Yeah, seeing as you really can't know that? It's not much help.

[minimoff]

[ And that was Tommy's entire quota for comforting things to say, today. ]

Except that everyone here who has gone home and came back tells us that they went right back to where they were taken from? Shouldn't you be happy she's home, instead of pissy that she's not trapped here getting jerked around by crazy Disneyland rejects with all the rest of us?

[krmvgivv]

[That just gets an eyeroll. Of course he doesn't want Mabel trapped. But being together somewhere bad will always be better than being alone somewhere good. For both of them.

And having Bill here has him on edge. Worried about what might happen at home. Worried that Mabel wouldn't be safer there anyway. He's supposed to protect her. He can't do that when they're separated.]

It's a twin thing. You wouldn't get it.

[minimoff]

[ Tommy's eyebrows shot up into his hair. ]

Dude, I am a twin. Try again.

[ Tommy wanted Billy around more than he would ever dare say. But when it came down to it, he would rather take the blow for him; he would take being trapped or whatever else, if it meant Billy would be free. ]

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper glances back at him, mildly curious, then just shrugs a shoulder and looks away again.]

Clearly not a very good one.

[minimoff]

[ ... excuse me?

Tommy goes from zero to angry in as much time as it takes him to run a mile. ]

I'm not the crappy twin here, you little shithead! You're the one who is so fucking selfish you would rather drag your sister through hell then be by yourself! She's obviously better off not being around you!

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper is a very smart kid. He's got an extremely large vocabulary and can be very eloquent when he chooses to be.

Dipper is not very strong. This summer has been good for Dipper, partly because his life (or Mabel's) has been in danger so often. He's capable of throwing a punch, though Mabel's still the physically stronger twin. Dipper prefers to fight smart. Dipper prefers to do everything smart.

Dipper is not very smart when he's this mad.

Being sworn at makes his stomach curl up uncomfortably. He's still young enough and sheltered enough that he never gets sworn around. But it's the other words, calling him selfish when he does everything for Mabel, saying she'd be better off without him around when having her gone feels like having an arm cut off.

In this moment, he isn't smart. He isn't eloquent. He still isn't very strong, but that doesn't stop himself from launching himself at Tommy with all the power his fury can grant his noodly arms and trying to punch the other kid.]

You don't know anything you... you... asshole!

[The swear feels strange in his mouth, but he's too angry to care, or to think about how his voice is cracking or whether his vision is blurring with rage or with tears. He's never wanted to drag Mabel through hell. But when she was here, it was an adventure that they were running into headfirst, together, because it was fun. With her gone, it does feel like hell. And that's the whole problem. They're a pair. Being apart from each other is just wrong.]