Phantom Falls

23: Helpless

Yes, the above artwork belongs to me. Not the best I've ever done(the proportions are off), but I was tired, and I couldn't find any fanart that suited this chapter. Anyway, enjoy the story.

Never had Dan enjoyed himself so much.

The looks on the humans' faces were priceless, Jazz's especially. He wished he could have done this sooner. Alas, he wasn't supposed to exist, and had to take massive amounts of energy from the Ghost Zone to survive. He couldn't travel too far from it.

He had to be close to Danny for the deal to work, as Bill needed to take over the boy's body immediately. So Danny had to come to him.

The ghost scowled a little, remembering the mistake of trying to control the septem tigris. They'd told it to go after Mabel in order to break Dipper's resolve, part of Bill's little mind game. Then it was supposed to create a situation in which the shifter, in Jazz's body, could lead the halfa wherever it pleased without raising suspicion.

But instead of just following the siblings to scare them, the tigris had gone ballistic and attempted to kill Danny. That wasn't part of the plan. Danny wasn't just a stabilizer for the portal, he was a stabilizer for Dan. Once they'd combined the three dimensions, Dan would merge with his younger self and no longer exist outside of time. His power would equal or even exceed Bill's.

He was drawn away from his thoughts as Bill snapped them out of the dream.

* * *

Dipper felt tears threaten to fall as he held Mabel.

They woke up back in the cave, Mabel still unconscious and Danny on the ground. Dan was standing over his counterpart, grinning.

Jazz ran to her brother. "Jazz, don't!" Dipper choked out. "That's not Danny anymore!"

She ignored him and knelt by his side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

His head snapped up to look at her. She gasped at his yellow eyes. "Well hello there!" he laughed in Bill's voice. "Did ya miss me?"

The teen scrambled away as Bill floated into an upright position. Danny's usually whitish aura was glowing blue. "Whoa! This is great! There's so much power, it's like I'm gonna explode!" He flexed his fingers. "An ice core, eh?" The possessed boy looked at Dan. "No wonder you're so cold-hearted!"

Dan chuckled as Bill enjoyed the new form. "And the pain! He's got so many wounds, he shouldn't have even made it this far. It's hilarious!" He shot himself in the face with an ectoblast. His skin steamed, and welts appeared. "Cool!"

Pacifica was on the verge of tears. "Stop it!" she screamed.

The demon just grinned. "Hey Flame Hair, does Techie say it's ready?"

Dan scowled. "Yes, Technus completed the work. I've let him go already, though he won't be able to hide once these worlds are ours."

Dipper felt Mabel's breath slowing. Her closed eyes flickered back and forth, her brows creased. He hoped she was okay.

The others began to discreetly scoot over to him as Dan and Bill went down the hole to check on the portal. "Don't try anything stupid, you little meatpuppets. The shifter is watching."

Wendy glanced down at Mabel as she placed a hand on Dipper's shoulder. "We have to get rid of Bill," she whispered. "Then Danny can handle the other creep."